TFM Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the TFM exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
TFM exam key facts
- The ServSafe Manager exam used for Texas Food Manager certification allows 2 hours for 90 questions. Source
- To pass the ServSafe Food Protection Manager exam, a candidate must score 70% or higher, meaning at least 56 of the 80 scored questions correct. Source
- A Texas Certified Food Manager (CFM) certification, earned by passing a DSHS or ANSI-CFP approved exam, is valid for five years. Source
📋 TFM Exam Format at a Glance
📚 TFM Topics to Study (22)
✍️ Sample TFM Questions & Answers
1. A customer reports illness symptoms 4 hours after eating a buffet meal. Which pathogen's timeline best fits this scenario?
Staphylococcus aureus produces a heat-stable toxin with a very short incubation period of 1–6 hours, fitting the 4-hour symptom timeline.
2. Which of the following is an example of a TCS (Time/Temperature Control for Safety) food?
Cooked rice is a TCS food because it provides moisture and nutrients that support rapid bacterial growth.
3. What is the proper two-stage cooling method for cooked foods?
The two-stage cooling method requires food to drop from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then from 70°F to 41°F within an additional 4 hours.
4. What is the minimum internal cooking temperature for poultry according to Texas food safety standards?
Poultry must be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 165°F to destroy harmful pathogens such as Salmonella.
5. What action should a food manager take when receiving a shipment of ground beef at 50°F?
Ground beef must be received at 41°F or below; a delivery temperature of 50°F exceeds the safe limit and the shipment must be rejected.
6. A food handler diagnosed with Hepatitis A must be excluded from food handling until:
A food handler with Hepatitis A must be excluded for at least 7 days after the onset of jaundice or until cleared by the regulatory authority.
🎯 Free TFM Practice Tests
📖 TFM Guides & Articles
What Practice Test Geeks adds beyond an AI chat for TFM
An AI chatbot can quiz you, but it can't reproduce the exam conditions or keep your record. Here you get:
- A timed, full-length TFM mock exam — 75 questions in 90 minutes with a 70% pass mark, modeled on the official exam's question count and time limit, followed by a score report broken down by exam domain.
- A fixed TFM question bank: the same test every attempt, so your score is comparable from one try to the next instead of changing with every regenerated quiz.
- Progress saved on your device: completed tests, scores and missed questions stay in My Progress, so you can retake only what you got wrong.
- A printable TFM cheat sheet you can print or save as a PDF.
- TFM flashcards built from the same question bank.
- Free TFM practice tests with the correct answer shown after each question.
How this page was made: written with AI tools and published by Nathan Beja, founder of Practice Test Geeks, who is responsible for its content. Exam facts are checked against the official sources listed below. Not reviewed by a subject-matter expert. Editorial policy
Sources & references
Exam facts on this page (fees, format, dates, passing scores) are checked against these official sources; the date is our last check. Editorial policy
- dshs.texas.gov — Test delivery, score validity · verified Oct 2026
- servsafe.com — Passing score, renewal, score release, time limit · verified Oct 2026