# Handwashing procedure and hand sink checklist for a café or restaurant (free template)

*Guides · Mays Team · September 23, 2026*

![Mays cover card: Handwashing procedure and hand sink checklist for a café or restaurant (free template) — Twenty seconds, the right sink, and a sink that's ready](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/blog__handwashing-procedure-hand-sink-checklist__cover.2062f2a888.png)

Everyone knows to wash their hands. The trouble is the details: the barista who washes in the bar sink because the hand sink is behind milk crates, the cook who gloves up without washing, the sink with no towels at 1 pm on a Saturday.

This post turns the FDA Food Code's handwashing rules into a procedure, a when-to-wash chart, a hand sink checklist and a manager's observation log.

*General information, not legal advice. Quotes are from the* [*FDA Food Code 2022*](https://www.fda.gov/media/164194/download)*, checked against the* [*2026 edition*](https://www.fda.gov/media/194741/download)*. Your state or county adopts its own edition and may differ.*

## The procedure: 20 seconds, five steps

The Code says food employees *"shall clean their hands and exposed portions of their arms, including surrogate prosthetic devices for hands or arms for at least 20 seconds, using a cleaning compound in a HANDWASHING SINK"* (§2-301.12(A)), in this order (§2-301.12(B)):

| Step | The Code's words | At the sink |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | *"Rinse under clean, running warm water"* | Wet hands and forearms |
| 2 | *"Apply an amount of cleaning compound recommended by the cleaning compound manufacturer"* | One pump of soap |
| 3 | *"Rub together vigorously for at least 10 to 15 seconds"*, paying attention to *"removing soil from underneath the fingernails"* and *"areas between the fingers"* | Palms, backs, between fingers, nails, wrists |
| 4 | *"Thoroughly rinse under clean, running warm water"* | Fingertips down |
| 5 | *"Immediately follow the cleaning procedure with thorough drying"* | Paper towel, then use it to turn off a hand-operated tap |

On step 5: staff *"may use disposable paper towels or similar clean barriers when touching surfaces such as manually operated faucet handles on a HANDWASHING SINK or the handle of a restroom door"* (§2-301.12(C)).

**Hand sanitizer is not a substitute.** A hand antiseptic must *"Be applied only to hands that are cleaned as specified under § 2-301.12"* (§2-301.16(A)(3)). Sanitizer after washing, if you like; never instead of it.

## When to wash: a chart for your stations

Before *"engaging in FOOD preparation including working with exposed FOOD, clean EQUIPMENT and UTENSILS, and unwrapped SINGLE-SERVICE and SINGLE-USE ARTICLES"*, and after any of the moments in §2-301.14. Here they are with café examples:

| The Code (§2-301.14) | At a café |
| --- | --- |
| *"After touching bare human body parts other than clean hands and clean, exposed portions of arms"* | Touching your face, hair or phone in your pocket |
| *"After using the toilet room"* | Every time, before going back to the station |
| *"After caring for or handling SERVICE ANIMALS or aquatic animals"* | Petting a guest's service dog at the counter |
| *"after coughing, sneezing, using a handkerchief or disposable tissue, using TOBACCO PRODUCTS, eating, or drinking"* | Back from a break, a snack or a smoke |
| *"After handling soiled EQUIPMENT or UTENSILS"* | Bussing tables, unloading the dish rack's dirty side |
| *"During FOOD preparation, as often as necessary to remove soil and contamination and to prevent cross contamination when changing tasks"* | From register to bar, from bar to pastry case |
| *"When switching between working with raw FOOD and working with READY-TO-EAT FOOD"* | Cracking raw eggs, then plating toast |
| *"Before donning gloves to initiate a task that involves working with FOOD"* | Every new pair of gloves |
| *"After engaging in other activities that contaminate the hands"* | Taking out trash, handling cash, receiving boxes, using chemicals |

Post your own version at the bar and the line.

## Where to wash

*"FOOD EMPLOYEES shall clean their hands in a HANDWASHING SINK or APPROVED automatic handwashing facility and may not clean their hands in a sink used for FOOD preparation or WAREWASHING, or in a service sink or a curbed cleaning facility used for the disposal of mop water and similar liquid waste"* (§2-301.15).

So: not the bar sink, the prep sink, the three-compartment sink or the mop sink. If the hand sink is too far away to use, that's a layout problem to fix.

## What a hand sink needs

| Requirement | The Code |
| --- | --- |
| Always reachable | *"A HANDWASHING SINK shall be maintained so that it is accessible at all times for EMPLOYEE use"* (§5-205.11(A); the 2026 edition says "always accessible") |
| Only for hands | *"A HANDWASHING SINK may not be used for purposes other than handwashing"* (§5-205.11(B)) |
| Warm water | *"at a temperature of at least 29.4°C (85°F) through a mixing valve or combination faucet"* (§5-202.12(A)) |
| Long enough flow | A self-closing or metering faucet *"shall provide a flow of water for at least 15 seconds without the need to reactivate the faucet"* (§5-202.12(C)) |
| Soap | *"a supply of hand cleaning liquid, powder, or bar soap"* (§6-301.11) |
| A way to dry | Disposable towels, a continuous towel system, a heated-air dryer or an air-knife dryer (§6-301.12) |
| A sign | *"A sign or poster that notifies FOOD EMPLOYEES to wash their hands shall be provided at all HANDWASHING SINKS used by FOOD EMPLOYEES"* (§6-301.14) |
| A bin | A sink with disposable towels *"shall be provided with a waste receptacle"* (§6-301.20) |

Where sinks go: *"To allow convenient use by EMPLOYEES in FOOD preparation, FOOD dispensing, and WAREWASHING areas"* and *"In, or immediately adjacent to, toilet rooms"* (§5-204.11). Adding or moving one is a plan review question for your health department.

## The hand sink checklist

List every hand sink once, then check each one at opening, at the midday changeover and before close.

**Sink list**

| No. | Where | Faucet type | Drying | Who checks |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Bar, next to espresso machine | Manual | Paper towels | Opening barista |
| 2 | Kitchen line | Foot pedal | Paper towels | Opening cook |
| 3 | Staff restroom | Metering | Air dryer | Shift lead |
|  |  |  |  |  |

**Each check**

| Check | Sink 1 | Sink 2 | Sink 3 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Nothing in the basin or in front of it (no pitchers, rags, crates) |  |  |  |
| Warm water within a few seconds; a metering tap runs 15 seconds |  |  |  |
| Soap dispenser works and is at least a quarter full |  |  |  |
| Towels stocked, or the dryer works |  |  |  |
| Bin present and not overflowing |  |  |  |
| Handwashing sign in place and readable |  |  |  |
| Initials and time |  |  |  |

Fix anything that fails before service; a sink that can't be fixed goes to the manager right away. Without a working hand sink, call your health department before you keep serving. Hand sinks are on the [mock inspection scoring sheet](https://www.mays.app/blog/mock-health-inspection-scoring-sheet) too.

## Training: show, then watch

1. **Show it** at the actual sink each new hire will use, with the steps and the when-to-wash chart.
2. **Watch them do it** once, counting the full 20 seconds out loud.
3. **Walk the station** and ask them to point at the moments they'd wash: "you just took out the trash; now what?"
4. **Sign it off** on their [training sign-off sheet](https://www.mays.app/blog/station-training-sign-off-sheet-template).

Do it on day one of [orientation](https://www.mays.app/blog/new-employee-orientation-checklist).

## The manager's observation log

Once a shift, quietly watch a few handwashing moments and write down what you saw. The point is to find where the routine breaks.

| Time | Employee | Moment (after trash, before gloves, raw to ready-to-eat…) | Washed? | Full procedure? | Coaching given |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  | Yes / No | Yes / No |  |
|  |  |  | Yes / No | Yes / No |  |

If everyone misses the same moment, look at the setup first: a sink too far away, no towels at the rush.

## Where Mays fits

- **The sink check on the checklist.** Add one task per sink to your opening, midday and closing templates, with a **Photo** answer, so the manager sees the sink, not just a tick. See [Creating a checklist template](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/create-a-checklist-template) and [Scheduling checklists](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/schedule-and-assign-checklists).
- **The procedure where staff can find it.** Keep the steps and your station chart in the **Knowledge Base**; staff read them in the app. See [Knowledge base basics](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/knowledge-base-basics).
- **A quiz and a nudge.** An admin can make a short training module from that article under **Learning → Modules**, and **snap quizzes** send one question at a time to people on shift who haven't passed yet. See [Creating training modules](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/create-learning-modules) and [Snap quizzes](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/snap-quizzes).
- **The observation log as a form.** An admin builds a form under **Tasks → Types** with **Repeatable rows** holding an **Employee** field, a **Single choice** for the moment, **Yes / No** for washed and full procedure, and a **Text** field for coaching. See [Building custom forms](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types).
- **A broken sink.** Post it in the **Logbook** under **Health & Safety** or **Maintenance** with **Needs follow-up**, so the next manager sees it. See [The manager logbook](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/manager-logbook).

What Mays doesn't do: a "No" on a sink check isn't highlighted or counted on its own, so read the day's answers, and reject a sink check that wasn't done right so it goes back with your reason. See [Reviewing and rejecting tasks](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/review-and-reject-tasks).

## Twenty seconds, the right sink, every time

Twenty seconds, at a hand sink, at every moment on the chart. The checklist keeps the sink ready; the training and the log keep the habit.

[**Start your free trial**](https://go.mays.app/register): 30 days, every module, no card needed. Or [book a walkthrough](https://www.mays.app/book?from=blog-handwashing-procedure-hand-sink-checklist) and we'll set it up with you.

## Related help articles

- Tasks & checklists: [Creating a checklist template](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/create-a-checklist-template) — Build an opening, closing or cleaning checklist once as a template — groups, tasks and answer types — and Mays turns it into your team's task list in the app.
- Tasks & checklists: [Scheduling and assigning checklists](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/schedule-and-assign-checklists) — Choose which days a checklist runs, the hours staff can see it, whether unfinished tasks carry over, and who does it — a role, a department, specific people or one person per task.
- Knowledge & training: [Your knowledge base](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/knowledge-base-basics) — Keep your SOPs, recipes and policies in one place. Admins and managers build folders of articles and documents on the web; the whole team reads and searches them in the app.
- Knowledge & training: [Creating training modules](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/create-learning-modules) — Turn your knowledge base articles and documents into a short quiz. The AI drafts the questions from your own text, you review and edit them, then publish the module for your team.
- Knowledge & training: [Snap quizzes](https://www.mays.app/help/knowledge-training/snap-quizzes) — A pop quiz is a push notification with one question from a module someone hasn't passed yet. Mays sends at most one a day, only to people on shift, inside the hours an admin sets.
- Tasks & checklists: [Building custom forms (Task Types)](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types) — Build your own task forms, like a cash count, a temperature log or a waste log, under Tasks → Types. Staff fill them in the app, and every answer lands in Task Data, ready to export.
- Scheduling: [The manager logbook](https://www.mays.app/help/scheduling/manager-logbook) — A daily journal for each location — handoff notes, incidents and maintenance, with comments, follow-up flags, who's read what, and how your team rated their shifts.

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/blog/handwashing-procedure-hand-sink-checklist