Food and alcohol delivered to your door – what should you know about the Hygiene Passport and Alcohol Delivery Passport?

Safe food delivery starts in the kitchen and continues all the way to the customer. When an order includes alcoholic beverages, the courier must also know the rules for handing them over. The Hygiene Passport and the Alcohol Delivery Passport demonstrate different areas of competence, and the need for each depends on the duties involved. Not every food courier automatically needs both passports.

A customer orders dinner and drinks for home delivery. At the restaurant, the meal is prepared, packed and handed to the courier. At the customer’s door, the courier must still check that the alcoholic beverages can legally be handed over to the recipient.

The same order involves two distinct responsibilities: the food must remain safe throughout transport, and the handover of alcohol must meet the requirements of the Alcohol Act. What does this mean for staff qualifications and everyday working practices?

The Hygiene Passport and Alcohol Delivery Passport serve different purposes

The Hygiene Passport demonstrates knowledge of food hygiene. It is required for work in food premises that involves handling unpackaged, easily perishable foods once a person has accumulated at least three months of such work.

The Alcohol Delivery Passport demonstrates knowledge of the regulations and procedures governing the delivery of alcoholic beverages. It is required of anyone acting on behalf of an alcohol delivery licence holder who hands an ordered alcoholic beverage over to its recipient.

A Hygiene Passport does not replace an Alcohol Delivery Passport, and an Alcohol Delivery Passport does not replace a Hygiene Passport. An employee may need both if, for example, they prepare food in a restaurant kitchen and also deliver alcoholic beverages to customers.

Does a food courier need a Hygiene Passport?

The deciding factor is what the employee actually does. Carrying food in a delivery bag does not, on its own, create a Hygiene Passport requirement.

The Finnish Food Authority’s guidance lists the transport of unpackaged but wrapped or otherwise protected, easily perishable foods as an example of work that does not require a Hygiene Passport. Collecting and transporting a food order that has already been protected is therefore different from preparing it using unpackaged ingredients.

The situation changes if the courier also works in the kitchen. Handling meat, chopping vegetables and preparing filled sandwiches are examples of tasks that may require a Hygiene Passport. The passport must be obtained once the employee has accumulated a total of three months of such work. Previous periods of equivalent work count towards this total, so changing employers does not restart the clock.

An employer may also require a Hygiene Passport for a role where it is not required by law. Employees should therefore check the requirements for their own duties before starting work.

When does a food courier need an Alcohol Delivery Passport?

A courier needs an Alcohol Delivery Passport when handing alcoholic beverages over to a recipient on behalf of an alcohol delivery licence holder. This also applies when alcohol is only one part of a larger food or grocery order. A Hygiene Passport or previous experience as a food courier does not replace the Alcohol Delivery Passport.

Licensed deliveries of alcoholic beverages can begin on 3 January 2027. In addition to the courier’s personal Alcohol Delivery Passport, the business needs an alcohol delivery licence and appropriate self-supervision procedures. Obtaining the passport alone does not authorise someone to start an alcohol delivery service that requires a licence.

Examples of passport requirements

Duties	Hygiene Passport	Alcohol Delivery Passport
You prepare food in a restaurant using unpackaged, easily perishable ingredients	Required once you have accumulated a total of three months of this work	Not required solely for preparing food
You collect and transport meals that have already been protected, without handling the food itself	Generally not required by law solely for this task	Not required if the delivery does not involve handing over alcoholic beverages as part of licensed delivery operations
You transport a protected food order and hand over the alcoholic beverages included in it on behalf of a delivery licence holder	Transporting the food alone does not create a requirement	Required
You prepare food in tasks that require a Hygiene Passport and also hand over alcoholic beverages during deliveries	Required once the three-month work threshold has been reached	Required for the alcohol handover role

The table illustrates common working situations. The need for a Hygiene Passport is assessed according to the actual duties, rather than the job title alone.

Food safety matters throughout transport

Even when a courier does not need a Hygiene Passport, food safety obligations still apply. According to the Finnish Food Authority, a food business operator providing transport is responsible for the safety of the food and the conditions during transport, as well as ensuring that staff receive adequate training and instructions.

Particular attention should be paid to:

Temperature control. Products requiring chilled or hot storage need appropriate transport conditions. Temperature control and monitoring procedures must be described in the business’s self-supervision arrangements.
Clean, undamaged transport equipment. Delivery boxes and bags must be kept clean and in good condition.
Protecting the food. Packaging and the way the load is arranged help protect food from contamination and damage.
Planning the delivery. Waiting times, the route and the duration of transport must be considered when ensuring safety.

Transport requirements also apply when the customer has ordered food through an app. Responsibility for food safety continues from the kitchen to the end of the delivery.

Alcoholic beverages must be handed over in person

For an alcohol delivery, arriving at the correct address is not enough. The beverages must be handed over to the buyer or another recipient in person. They cannot be left outside the door.

The recipient must be at least 18 for mild alcoholic beverages and at least 20 for strong alcoholic beverages. Alcohol must not be handed over to a person who is visibly intoxicated or behaving disruptively. A justified suspicion that the alcohol will be passed on or supplied unlawfully also prevents the handover.

Beverages containing more than 2.8% alcohol by volume may only be handed over between 09:00 and 21:00. The law also restricts delivery locations. For example, a public playground is not a permitted location for an alcohol delivery. A time or place suitable for delivering food is therefore not automatically suitable for handing over alcohol.

What if the food can be delivered but the alcohol cannot?

Imagine a courier arriving with food and alcoholic beverages. The recipient cannot prove that they are old enough to receive the alcohol. The beverages cannot be handed over, even if the order has been paid for in advance.

Businesses should account for these mixed orders in their operating procedures before launching deliveries. The instructions should explain how to handle the food and any alcoholic beverages that cannot be handed over, whom the courier should contact and how the incident should be recorded.

Any decision about the food must still ensure its safety. For the alcoholic beverages, the courier must comply with the prohibition on handing them over and follow the business’s self-supervision procedures. Customers should not be promised that the entire order can be left outside the door if it includes alcoholic beverages requiring an in-person handover.

Employer-provided induction puts knowledge into practice

Passports demonstrate competence, while workplace-specific procedures are learned through induction. A business arranging food and alcohol deliveries should take staff through the entire delivery process: collecting the order, transporting it, checking the recipient and handling exceptional situations.

Food safety induction covers matters such as temperature control and cleaning delivery equipment. Alcohol deliveries also require instructions on assessing whether a handover is permitted and refusing to hand over beverages. The delivery licence holder must keep up-to-date records of induction provided to new delivery workers and checks of their Alcohol Delivery Passports.

A clear division of responsibilities helps everyone understand what they need to check and how to get help when needed.

Prepare for your Hygiene Passport or Alcohol Delivery Passport test

If your duties involve handling unpackaged, easily perishable foods, find out about obtaining a Hygiene Passport well in advance. Hygieniapassi.fi offers Hygiene Passport tests and information to help you prepare.

If your duties will also include handing over alcoholic beverages during deliveries, explore Toimituspassi.fi. The service brings together official Alcohol Delivery Passport tests organised by partner educational institutions. After you pass, the educational institution organising the test will issue your certificate.

The Trainify learning app helps you prepare for both the Hygiene Passport and Alcohol Delivery Passport tests. Choose the study materials relevant to your duties, practise and review what you have learned before the test.

Explore Hygiene Passport tests

Explore Alcohol Delivery Passport tests

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