How to Apply to In-N-Out (2026): Step-by-Step

In-N-Out is company-owned, not franchised, and it hires almost everyone at restaurant level as a Level 1 Store Associate; store managers are promoted from within and never hired directly. Openings are listed per store on talent.innout.com, an Avature portal reached from in-n-out.com/employment, where you create a profile with an email and password before applying. In-N-Out publishes rules other chains do not: you can apply to up to four locations, applications stay active for 60 days, and each store makes its own hiring decisions. Support department jobs — warehouse, food processing, IT, accounting — use the same portal with a department filter.

Where the In-N-Out application lives

Official careers site: in-n-out.com/employment. Applications run on an Avature portal (talent.innout.com).

• Restaurant Associate jobs — Store Associate and Cleanup Associate openings by state; you pick a store and apply on talent.innout.com.
• Support and corporate departments — Warehouse, food processing, IT, accounting and other support roles at Baldwin Park, Irvine, Lathrop, Dallas and regional sites.

Step by step: applying to In-N-Out

1. Start at in-n-out.com/employment/restaurant, choose your state and pick a store that is hiring. Each store has its own Store Associate posting with the street address and store number.
2. Click Apply. The portal asks you to log in or 'Create profile' with an email address and password; there is no social or phone-number login.
3. Fill in the application. Prior work experience is not required for Store Associate; the posting asks for a friendly attitude, work ethic and communication skills. Cleanup Associate requires you to be 18 or older.
4. Select additional locations if you want; the posting says your application is shared with those stores as well. The FAQ caps this at four.
5. Submit and note the date. Applications stay active for 60 days while store management reviews them, and you may be contacted by phone or email for an interview.
6. Employees on Indeed describe two interviews, often with different managers, spaced a few days to a week apart depending on how busy the store is.

Tips from In-N-Out applicants

• If 60 days pass with no contact, reapply; the FAQ says a new application is needed to be considered again.
• You can follow up in person by visiting the store and asking for a manager. In-N-Out's FAQ explicitly allows this, which is unusual.
• Indeed responses put the usual minimum age at 16 for store associates. Grooming standards are strict, so dress neatly for interviews.

How long the In-N-Out process takes

Applicants on Indeed report anything from a next-day interview request to a couple of weeks of waiting, then a second interview a few days to a week later. The process is usually two short in-person interviews with store management.

Before you hit submit

Two quick wins: check your resume against the posting with the resume keywords for your role, and attach a tailored letter — see the cover letter examples by role. Decide your answers to the standard screening questions once — see desired salary and work authorization — and keep a record in a tracker.

Apply faster

In-N-Out applications run on an Avature portal (talent.innout.com). JobRizzer focuses on the major ATS platforms (Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby and more) and can still speed up the common fields on many forms — and you can prep fast with the free ATS Resume Checker and Cover Letter Generator.