REHS EXAM Question and Answer
2026 | Updated Practice Questions
and Solutions | A+ Verified
• Order the following for an inspection based on importance most to least?
a. food festival without a hand sink
b. restaurant without power
c. chlorine leak at a public pool -✓✓Chlorine leak at a public pool, restaurant
without power, food festival without a hand sink
• What causes infections in tattoos? -✓✓Staphylococcus aureus
• What chemical raises the pH of the pool? -✓✓sodium bicarbonate (soda ash)
• Which would require an inspection first based on the risk caused to the public if
you only have time for one inspection?
a. The hotel is 6 months past due for an inspection
b. Tattoo parlor is nine months past due for an inspection
c. Fast food restaurant one month past due for an inspection
d. A pool that's not open but is looking to open in 2 weeks -✓✓Tattoo parlor nine
months past due
• When conducting a reinspection at a pool, what will you look at first?
a. The main drain is visible at the bottom of the pool
b. The flow rate in range
c. pH of the pool
d. Chemical log being filled out daily -✓✓The main drain is visible at the bottom
of the pool
• HACCP targets which bacteria? -✓✓Listeria monocytogenes
• What are the 7 steps of a HACCP plan? -✓✓1. Conduct a hazardous analysis
2. Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs)
3. Establish Critical Limits
,4. Establish Monitoring Procedures
5. Establish Corrective Actions
6. Establish verification procedures
7. Establish record-keeping and documentation procedures
• What is the target pH of sushi rice? -✓✓4.6 or below
• What causes methemoglobinemia in toddlers? -✓✓nitrates
• What would you deal with first?
a. One Person eating lipstick with 2 ppm lead
b. Lead in the paint of a house with an infant
c. Air averaging 0.15 µg/m3 lead for 3 months in a location
d. 15% of the house's water level is above 15 µg/L lead in a given area -✓✓Lead
in the paint of a house with an infant
• How much faster do infants absorb lead than adults? -✓✓4 to 5 times more
than adults
• If a house built in 1970 was taken down to the studs and redone in 1980, what
would you inspect first regarding a sickness from lead in a person's house? -
✓✓Paint peeling from around window sill
• What following pet can lead to Psittacosis in a child
Parrots
Dogs
Cats
Mouse -✓✓Parrots
• Most common cockroach in the US? -✓✓German
• Amount of soil to put on a finished landfill -✓✓24 inches
• What carries Hantavirus? -✓✓Rodents
• What of the following is not characteristic of Hazardous waste
,a. corrosive
b. toxic
c. ignitable
d. degradable -✓✓Degradable
Remember, CRIT is the 4 hazardous waste items (corrosive, reactive, ignitable,
toxic)
• Formula for turnover rate -✓✓Turnover Rate in Hours= (Pool Gallons/GPM)/60
• A daycare with a wading pool needs to do what of the following?
a. Drained and cleaned daily or after each use
b. Have a chlorine level of 5 ppm
c. Stay less than 18 inches of water
d. Have lifeguard training -✓✓Drained and cleaned daily or after each use
• When using heat to kill bed bugs, what temperature is needed for a 90-minute
removal?
90°F
100°F
120°F
140°F -✓✓120°F
• Sous vide food can lead to what foodborne illness? -✓✓Clostridium botulinum
• What would be the safest to do at a school event and then sell?
Cooking vegetables from a home garden
Canning Fruits
Baking custard pies
Freeze-drying ice cream, fruits, and candy -✓✓Cooking vegetables from a home
garden
• What can you use after a national Disaster? -✓✓Canned Goods
• What is considered comminuted?
a. pizza
b. hot dogs and hamburgers
c. chili
, d. fruits and vegetables -✓✓Hot dogs and hamburgers
• Freezing a toxin will have what effect?
a. decrease toxins drastically
b. decrease slightly
c. increases
d. no effect -✓✓no effect
• What kind of respirator do you need in 15% oxygen?
Half
Full
SCBA
None -✓✓SCBA
Positive pressure full face mask SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus)
• There was heavy rain and a septic tank has not been buried. What is the main
concern? -✓✓Floating of the tank
• Nosocomial infections are most severe in?
a. schools
b. restaurants
c. hospitals
d. prison commissary -✓✓Hospitals
• What disease is commonly spread through wastewater? -✓✓HEP A
• What type of soil is best for an onsite wastewater system? -✓✓Red, Brown, or
Yellow
• What is the goal of onsite wastewater systems? -✓✓collect, treat, and disperse
wastewater generated by a home or business.
• What is the biggest concern at a festival lasting more than three days? -
✓✓water, sewage, food protection
2026 | Updated Practice Questions
and Solutions | A+ Verified
• Order the following for an inspection based on importance most to least?
a. food festival without a hand sink
b. restaurant without power
c. chlorine leak at a public pool -✓✓Chlorine leak at a public pool, restaurant
without power, food festival without a hand sink
• What causes infections in tattoos? -✓✓Staphylococcus aureus
• What chemical raises the pH of the pool? -✓✓sodium bicarbonate (soda ash)
• Which would require an inspection first based on the risk caused to the public if
you only have time for one inspection?
a. The hotel is 6 months past due for an inspection
b. Tattoo parlor is nine months past due for an inspection
c. Fast food restaurant one month past due for an inspection
d. A pool that's not open but is looking to open in 2 weeks -✓✓Tattoo parlor nine
months past due
• When conducting a reinspection at a pool, what will you look at first?
a. The main drain is visible at the bottom of the pool
b. The flow rate in range
c. pH of the pool
d. Chemical log being filled out daily -✓✓The main drain is visible at the bottom
of the pool
• HACCP targets which bacteria? -✓✓Listeria monocytogenes
• What are the 7 steps of a HACCP plan? -✓✓1. Conduct a hazardous analysis
2. Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs)
3. Establish Critical Limits
,4. Establish Monitoring Procedures
5. Establish Corrective Actions
6. Establish verification procedures
7. Establish record-keeping and documentation procedures
• What is the target pH of sushi rice? -✓✓4.6 or below
• What causes methemoglobinemia in toddlers? -✓✓nitrates
• What would you deal with first?
a. One Person eating lipstick with 2 ppm lead
b. Lead in the paint of a house with an infant
c. Air averaging 0.15 µg/m3 lead for 3 months in a location
d. 15% of the house's water level is above 15 µg/L lead in a given area -✓✓Lead
in the paint of a house with an infant
• How much faster do infants absorb lead than adults? -✓✓4 to 5 times more
than adults
• If a house built in 1970 was taken down to the studs and redone in 1980, what
would you inspect first regarding a sickness from lead in a person's house? -
✓✓Paint peeling from around window sill
• What following pet can lead to Psittacosis in a child
Parrots
Dogs
Cats
Mouse -✓✓Parrots
• Most common cockroach in the US? -✓✓German
• Amount of soil to put on a finished landfill -✓✓24 inches
• What carries Hantavirus? -✓✓Rodents
• What of the following is not characteristic of Hazardous waste
,a. corrosive
b. toxic
c. ignitable
d. degradable -✓✓Degradable
Remember, CRIT is the 4 hazardous waste items (corrosive, reactive, ignitable,
toxic)
• Formula for turnover rate -✓✓Turnover Rate in Hours= (Pool Gallons/GPM)/60
• A daycare with a wading pool needs to do what of the following?
a. Drained and cleaned daily or after each use
b. Have a chlorine level of 5 ppm
c. Stay less than 18 inches of water
d. Have lifeguard training -✓✓Drained and cleaned daily or after each use
• When using heat to kill bed bugs, what temperature is needed for a 90-minute
removal?
90°F
100°F
120°F
140°F -✓✓120°F
• Sous vide food can lead to what foodborne illness? -✓✓Clostridium botulinum
• What would be the safest to do at a school event and then sell?
Cooking vegetables from a home garden
Canning Fruits
Baking custard pies
Freeze-drying ice cream, fruits, and candy -✓✓Cooking vegetables from a home
garden
• What can you use after a national Disaster? -✓✓Canned Goods
• What is considered comminuted?
a. pizza
b. hot dogs and hamburgers
c. chili
, d. fruits and vegetables -✓✓Hot dogs and hamburgers
• Freezing a toxin will have what effect?
a. decrease toxins drastically
b. decrease slightly
c. increases
d. no effect -✓✓no effect
• What kind of respirator do you need in 15% oxygen?
Half
Full
SCBA
None -✓✓SCBA
Positive pressure full face mask SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus)
• There was heavy rain and a septic tank has not been buried. What is the main
concern? -✓✓Floating of the tank
• Nosocomial infections are most severe in?
a. schools
b. restaurants
c. hospitals
d. prison commissary -✓✓Hospitals
• What disease is commonly spread through wastewater? -✓✓HEP A
• What type of soil is best for an onsite wastewater system? -✓✓Red, Brown, or
Yellow
• What is the goal of onsite wastewater systems? -✓✓collect, treat, and disperse
wastewater generated by a home or business.
• What is the biggest concern at a festival lasting more than three days? -
✓✓water, sewage, food protection
