Restaurant Health Inspection Checklist: What Inspectors Check, Item by Item

Quick answer: health inspectors check much the same items everywhere, because many U.S. health departments base their inspection forms on FDA's model Food Establishment Inspection Report (Form 3-A in the Food Code), which lists 56. Items 1–29 are the foodborne illness risk factors: the person in charge, employee health, handwashing, safe sources, cross-contamination, and cooking, cooling, and holding temperatures. They carry the most weight. Items 30–56 are good retail practices: labeling, pests, equipment, plumbing, and cleaning. Below is every item in plain English with what passes, based on FDA's 2026 marking instructions (Guide 3-B), plus a printable version to walk your kitchen with. Opening a new restaurant? Start with our plan review checklist for the inspection before you open.

Your health department may use its own form, scoring, or letter grades, and its rules can be stricter than the model code. The items are close to universal, though, so this is how to prepare.

How a Health Inspection Works

The inspector marks each of the 29 risk-factor items IN (in compliance), OUT, N.O. (not observed), or N.A. (not applicable). Some can never be marked N.O. or N.A.: employee health, handwashing sinks, and approved sources, for example, always get a verdict. For most of the 27 good retail practices, the inspector marks only what's out. Any violation can also be marked COS, corrected on site during the inspection, or R, a repeat of a violation on the last report.

Each Food Code rule has a weight. Priority items directly control a hazard, like cooking, cooling, and handwashing. Priority foundation items support them, like training, records, thermometers, and test strips. Everything else is core: general sanitation, equipment design, and maintenance. Under the model code (§8-405.11, §8-406.11):

• Priority and priority foundation violations are corrected during the inspection. The health department can allow up to 72 hours for a priority item or 10 calendar days for a priority foundation item.
• Core violations are corrected by a date the inspector sets, no later than 90 calendar days after the inspection.

The model code calls for an inspection at least once every 6 months, which health departments can stretch for lower-risk places under a written risk-based schedule (§8-401.10). The person in charge must let the inspector in during operating hours once they show credentials, and provide the records the code requires (§8-402.11). And if there's an imminent health hazard, such as an extended loss of water or power, a sewage backup, a fire or flood, or an apparent outbreak, you stop operating and call the health department yourself (§8-404.11). The health department can also suspend your permit on the spot when it finds one.

Risk Factors and Interventions (Items 1–29)

Supervision (items 1–2)

• Person in charge present and knowledgeable (1). Someone in charge is on site during all hours of operation and can answer the inspector's food safety questions about your menu. A certified manager, or no priority violations on the inspection, also counts as showing knowledge. The inspector also judges whether the person in charge keeps staff following the rules; one isolated slip shouldn't mark this item out.
• Certified food protection manager (2). The person in charge holds a certificate from an accredited program (§2-102.12). See our food manager certification guide.

Employee health (items 3–5)

• Staff know what to report (3). The inspector may pick one employee at random and ask you to show they were told which symptoms and illnesses to report: a signed FDA Form 1-B, a training roster, or an illness policy with signed acknowledgments. You don't have to recite the list from memory, just find it.
• Restriction and exclusion used correctly (4). No one is working while vomiting or with diarrhea, jaundice, or a diagnosed illness the code lists, and anyone who reported one was sent home or kept off food as required.
• Illness documentation (5). A written procedure for cleaning up vomit and diarrhea, and, new in the 2026 marking guide, a written employee illness policy, both available to employees. See our guides to the employee illness policy and the vomit clean-up procedure.

Good hygienic practices and hands (items 6–10)

• Eating, drinking, and tasting (6). Staff eat, drink, and smoke only in designated areas. A drink with a lid, kept away from food and clean equipment, is fine. Tasting uses a clean utensil each time.
• No discharge from eyes, nose, or mouth (7). No one with a persistent cough, sneezing, or runny nose works with exposed food.
• Hands washed properly (8). The inspector watches when and where people wash: after raw meat, before gloves, after breaks and the restroom, at a handwashing sink. If the person in charge walks the kitchen with the inspector and touches food without washing, that counts too.
• No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food (9). Gloves, tongs, or deli paper for anything that won't be cooked. One employee seen doing it marks the item out.
• Handwashing sinks supplied and accessible (10). Soap, paper towels or another way to dry hands, and a handwashing sign at every sink. A sink blocked by equipment or used to store dishes is a violation. Running a booth at a market or event? Our portable handwashing station guide covers what inspectors expect there.

Approved source (items 11–14)

• Food from approved sources (11). Licensed suppliers, with invoices to prove it. No food made in a private home (§3-201.11), and no wild mushrooms unless the health department approved them.
• Received at proper temperature (12). Cold TCS food at 41°F or below, hot food at 135°F or above, frozen food frozen (§3-202.11). Check deliveries with a thermometer.
• Food in good condition (13). No swollen or leaking cans or broken seals, and no food made to look fresher than it is.
• Required records (14). Shellfish tags kept for 90 days after the last shellfish from the container is served, and parasite-destruction records or a supplier statement for fish served raw or undercooked.

Protection from contamination (items 15–17)

• Food separated and protected (15). Raw animal food below and away from ready-to-eat food and unwashed produce, raw meats kept apart by type, and single-use gloves used for one task only.
• Food-contact surfaces cleaned and sanitized (16). The inspector tests your sanitizer and dish machine, so keep test strips at every sink. Surfaces in use with TCS food are cleaned at least every 4 hours (§4-602.11). One dirty plate won't mark the item out; a dirty slicer in use will.
• Returned and unsafe food (17). Nothing served before goes back out unprotected, and unsafe or contaminated food is thrown away.

Time and temperature control (items 18–24)

• Cooking (18). The inspector probes food as it cooks: poultry 165°F, ground meat 155°F for 17 seconds, fish and most other meat 145°F for 15 seconds, with separate rules for roasts and whole steaks.
• Reheating for hot holding (19). 165°F within 2 hours.
• Cooling (20). From 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours and to 41°F within 6 hours total. Inspectors check food that's cooling and ask when it started, so a cooling log answers the question for you.
• Hot and cold holding (21, 22). 135°F or above, 41°F or below. One TCS food out of temperature marks the item out.
• Date marking (23). Ready-to-eat TCS food kept more than 24 hours is marked and used or thrown out within 7 days, counting the day it was made or opened as day 1.
• Time as a public health control (24). If you hold food without temperature control, you need a written procedure, and each container is marked with its 4-hour discard time (or the 6-hour version for cold food).

Consumer advisory, special populations, chemicals, special processes (items 25–29)

• Consumer advisory (25). Raw or undercooked animal foods on the menu, like burgers cooked to order, are disclosed and asterisked to a footnote reminder, such as "Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness" (§3-603.11).
• Highly susceptible populations (26). Nursing homes, hospitals, and child care: pasteurized juice and eggs where required, and no raw or undercooked animal foods or raw sprouts.
• Food additives (27). No unapproved additives, and no sulfites on fresh fruits and vegetables served raw.
• Toxic substances (28). Chemicals labeled and stored below and away from food, sanitizer no stronger than its label allows, and medicines and first-aid supplies stored away from food.
• Variances and HACCP plans (29). Smoking, curing, sous vide, reduced oxygen packaging, and similar processes need the health department's approval or a HACCP plan where the code requires one.

Good Retail Practices (Items 30–56)

These carry less weight on the report, and inspectors look for patterns rather than one-offs: a few missing floor tiles in a dry storeroom may not count, while the same gap where equipment is hosed down in place may.

• Safe food and water (30–32). Pasteurized eggs in uncooked egg dishes like Caesar dressing, unless your consumer advisory covers them; water and ice from an approved source; a variance for any specialized process.
• Temperature control (33–36). Enough refrigeration to cool and hold food, with shallow pans, ice baths, or another listed cooling method; vegetables cooked for hot holding to 135°F; food thawed in the fridge, under cold running water, or as part of cooking; and a calibrated food thermometer accurate to ±2°F, plus a readable thermometer in every refrigerator (§4-203.11, §4-204.112).
• Food identification (37). Food out of its original package is labeled with its name, and customers are told in writing which major food allergens are in unpackaged food (§3-602.12). Our food allergen policy guide shows how.
• Contamination prevention (38–42). No sign of pests; outer doors and windows closed or screened; food covered and stored 6 inches off the floor; hair restraints, clean clothes, and no jewelry but a plain ring; wiping cloths kept in sanitizer; produce washed.
• Proper use of utensils (43–46). In-use utensils kept in the food with the handle out, in running water, or in water at 135°F or above; clean dishes air-dried and stored upside down or covered; single-use items never reused; cut-resistant gloves covered by a single-use glove for ready-to-eat food.
• Utensils, equipment, and vending (47–49). Equipment in good repair, cutting boards replaced when scratches won't clean, the dish machine or three-compartment sink at the right temperatures and strength, and shelves and handles clean.
• Physical facilities (50–56). Hot and cold water with enough pressure; no leaks and backflow protection where needed; no sewage backups; restrooms with soap, towels, toilet paper, a self-closing door, and a covered trash can (the 2026 code extends the trash can rule to every restroom, §5-501.17); covered dumpsters; clean floors, walls, and ceilings; shielded lights, clean hoods, and staff belongings in a designated area.

What to Have Ready Before the Inspector Arrives

Inspectors often arrive unannounced, so keep these where the person in charge can find them on any shift:

• The certified food protection manager's certificate, and food handler cards if your state requires them (see requirements by state).
• Employee reporting agreements or training records, the written illness policy, and the vomit clean-up procedure.
• Temperature records: cooling, hot and cold holding, and fridge logs. Our free log templates cover all of them.
• Shellfish tags, parasite-destruction records, a written time-as-control procedure, and any variance or HACCP plan, if they apply to you.
• Your last inspection report, so you can check that every earlier violation is fixed. A repeat violation looks worse than a new one.

Tools That Prevent Common Violations

Several items fail simply because a tool is missing: no thermometer to check food, no test strips to check sanitizer, no sign at the hand sink. These are the basics, each checked against its live Amazon listing.

A probe thermometer for cooking, cooling, holding, and receiving checks (items 12, 18–22, 36). This one is NSF certified and waterproof, with a 4.75-inch stem. More choices in our food thermometer guide.

A thermometer in every refrigerator, placed in the warmest spot (item 36, §4-204.112). Our refrigerator thermometer guide covers where it goes and which to buy.

Sanitizer test strips for whichever sanitizer you use (items 16 and 48). This kit has both quat and chlorine strips, so it covers either.

Date labels for ready-to-eat food held more than a day (item 23). See our date label guide for label guns and dissolvable labels.

A handwashing sign at every sink employees use to wash their hands (item 10, §6-301.14). A pack of three covers most small kitchens.

Hair restraints for everyone who handles exposed food (item 40). Our hair restraint guide covers caps and beard nets.

A covered trash can in every restroom (item 53). Under the 2026 Food Code this applies to all toilet rooms, not just women's. A small step can with a lid does it.

During and After the Inspection

1. Walk with the inspector. The person in charge should go along, answer questions, and wash hands before touching anything in the kitchen.
2. Fix what you can on the spot. Throw out food that's out of temperature, restock the hand sink, remix the sanitizer. A violation corrected on site is still recorded, but marked COS, which shows active control.
3. Read the report before you sign. Ask what each violation means and the deadline to fix it. Signing acknowledges you received the report; it isn't an agreement with the findings (§8-403.40). The report is a public document (§8-403.50).
4. Correct everything by the deadline. Priority items within 72 hours at most, priority foundation items within 10 days, core items within 90 days, unless the inspector sets sooner. The health department verifies the corrections, often with a follow-up inspection (§8-405.20).
5. Fix the system, not just the item. If a cooler ran warm, add it to the daily log; if a hand sink was blocked, move what blocked it. That's what keeps an item from coming back as a repeat.

Run Your Own Self-Inspection

The best preparation is to inspect yourself the way the inspector will, once a month and during a busy shift, when shortcuts show up. Rotate who does it, so more than one person knows the standard. Use the checklist below, write down what you found and fixed, and check that last month's problems stayed fixed. For the cleaning items, a posted kitchen cleaning schedule does most of the work. For the written procedures and records behind each item, see our guide to the food safety management system the 2026 Food Code requires.

Want the paperwork done for you? Our Food Safety Plan Kit has the written documents inspectors ask for: an employee illness policy, a vomit clean-up procedure, 24 editable procedures built on the 2026 Food Code, training records, monitoring logs, and an editable self-inspection checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often are restaurants inspected?

The FDA Food Code calls for at least one inspection every 6 months. Health departments can inspect lower-risk places less often under a written risk-based schedule, and many inspect high-risk kitchens more often. Your state or local health department sets the actual schedule.

What is the difference between priority, priority foundation, and core violations?

Priority violations directly affect a hazard, like undercooked or poorly cooled food or no handwashing. Priority foundation violations undermine the controls behind them, like a missing thermometer, test kit, record, or training. Core violations are general sanitation, maintenance, and equipment issues.

How long do I have to fix a health code violation?

Under the model Food Code, priority and priority foundation violations are corrected during the inspection unless the health department allows more time: up to 72 hours for priority items and 10 calendar days for priority foundation items. Core violations must be fixed by the date the inspector sets, within 90 calendar days.

Can a health inspector shut down a restaurant?

Yes. If it finds an imminent health hazard, such as an extended loss of water or power, a sewage backup, a fire or flood, or an apparent foodborne illness outbreak, the health department can suspend the permit immediately, without a hearing first. The notice tells you how to ask for a reinspection once the problem is fixed.

What does corrected on site (COS) mean on an inspection report?

It means every violation under that item was fixed and verified before the inspector left, such as throwing out food found out of temperature. The violation is still recorded on the report, but marked as corrected.

Bottom Line

Inspectors follow a predictable list: 29 risk factors that decide how an inspection goes, and 27 good retail practices that add up. Most failures come from the same few things: temperatures nobody checked, a hand sink without soap or towels, sanitizer nobody tested, and missing paperwork. Walk your own kitchen with the checklist once a month, keep the logs, and the real inspection holds no surprises.

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