How to read a restaurant inspection report
Grades, scores, violations, re-inspections — what each part of an official inspection report actually tells you.
An inspection report looks intimidating — codes, checkboxes, jargon like “time/temperature control for safety.” But every report, in every US jurisdiction, is answering the same three questions: was food kept safe from contamination, were the people handling it doing so hygienically, and is the facility itself in a condition that supports both. Read with those three questions in mind and the report opens up.
Start with the outcome, not the list
The most important line is the overall outcome: a letter grade, a numeric score, or a pass/fail result, depending on where you live. That is the inspector's bottom line after weighing everything they saw. A long list of violations under a passing outcome usually means many small, low-risk items; a short list under a failing outcome means the few items found were serious.
Next, check the inspection type. A routine inspection is the unannounced, full-scope visit that best reflects normal operations. A follow-up or re-inspection only rechecks previously cited items. A complaint inspection was triggered by a report from the public and is narrowly focused.
Violations come in two tiers
Nearly every US system separates violations into a serious tier and a minor one — called critical vs. non-critical, priority vs. core, or major vs. minor. The serious tier maps to the CDC's known risk factors for foodborne illness: food held at unsafe temperatures, poor employee hygiene, contaminated equipment, food from unsafe sources, and inadequate cooking. The minor tier covers upkeep: a cracked floor tile, a missing sign, a dented panel.
One critical violation, corrected on the spot while the inspector watched, is routine — inspectors expect to find and fix things. The pattern that deserves your attention is repeat critical violations across multiple visits, which suggests the underlying practice never changed.
Dates matter
An inspection is a snapshot. A spotless report from three years ago says little about today's kitchen — staff turn over, management changes, standards drift. That's why every CleanPlate page shows the inspection date next to the grade, and why establishments with no inspection in over two years are treated as likely closed rather than presented as current.