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Restaurant health inspection checklist: what inspectors check

Published Updated NYC data as of

  • A health inspector walks the kitchen, measures food temperatures and checks cleaning, pests, handwashing, staff practices and a few records. Your health department's form sets the exact items.
  • FDA's model inspection report lists 29 risk factor items and 27 good retail practices (FDA Food Code 2026, Annex 7). Cooling, hot holding and cold holding are items 20, 21 and 22.
  • The FDA Food Code sets an inspection at least once every 6 months as the baseline, and lets the regulatory authority inspect some establishments less often (§8-401.10). NYC schedules every restaurant for an unannounced inspection at least once a year.
  • In New York City, the three violations cited most at routine inspections from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 were non-food contact surfaces not clean or not cleanable (10F, 53%), conditions that let pests in or give them shelter (08A, 30%) and cold food above 41°F (02G, 25%).
  • 8,543 of 21,382 routine NYC inspections (40%) cited food at the wrong temperature.
Go to the checklistSee the NYC numbers

The checklist below has 26 items in five groups. Each item names the FDA Food Code 2026 section behind it. After the checklist, each area explains what the inspector checks and how often New York City inspectors cited it in the last 12 full months of the City's data. The Food Code is a model code. Your state or city adopts it, sometimes with changes, so check your local limits. New York City, for example, holds hot food at 140°F, not 135°F.

The checklist

Run it before service.

Temperatures

  1. 1.Every cold holding unit keeps food at 41°F or less, and hot food is held at 135°F or above, or at your local limit (§3-501.16(A)). New York City: 140°F.
  2. 2.Every cold and hot holding unit has a thermometer you can read (§4-204.112).
  3. 3.A food thermometer with a probe is at hand on the line (§4-302.12).
  4. 4.Each unit has today's readings at the set times, each with the time and the name of the person who took it.
  5. 5.Every reading out of range has a corrective action written next to it.

Cooling

  1. 6.Every batch that is cooling has its start time and start temperature written down.
  2. 7.Cooked food reaches 70°F within 2 hours of 135°F, and 41°F or less within 6 hours in total (§3-501.14(A)). New York City counts from 140°F: 70°F within 2 hours, then 41°F within 4 more hours.
  3. 8.Food cools in shallow pans, in smaller portions, in rapid cooling equipment or stirred in an ice water bath, loosely covered and placed so air reaches the containers (§3-501.15).

Hygiene and cleaning

  1. 9.Every hand sink has soap, a way to dry hands, and hot and cold running water, and nothing is stored in it or in front of it (§5-205.11).
  2. 10.Staff wash their hands after the toilet room, when they switch from raw to ready-to-eat food, and before they put on gloves (§2-301.14).
  3. 11.Ready-to-eat food is handled with tongs, deli tissue or single-use gloves, never bare hands (§3-301.11(B)).
  4. 12.Raw meat, fish and poultry are stored apart from and below ready-to-eat food (§3-302.11).
  5. 13.Ready-to-eat food kept more than 24 hours carries the date by which it is consumed, sold or discarded, 7 days at most at 41°F or less (§3-501.17(A)).
  6. 14.Sanitizer solution is mixed and checked, and wiping cloths sit in it between uses (§3-304.14(B)).
  7. 15.Food-contact surfaces in use with TCS food (food that needs time and temperature control for safety) are cleaned at least every 4 hours and between raw and ready-to-eat work (§4-602.11).
  8. 16.Shelves, door gaskets and the surfaces under, behind and on top of equipment are clean (§4-601.11(C)).
  9. 17.Hair restraints are on, outer clothing is clean, and staff drinks are covered.

Pests

  1. 18.No live pests, droppings or flies in food, storage or dish areas (§6-501.111).
  2. 19.Gaps, holes and cracks in walls, floors and doors are sealed, and nothing is stacked where pests can hide (§6-501.111(D)).
  3. 20.Garbage containers are covered and pest-resistant.
  4. 21.Deliveries are checked for pests before they go into storage (§6-501.111(A)).

Records

  1. 22.A certified food protection manager is in charge on this shift and can show the certificate (§2-101.11(A), §2-102.12(A)).
  2. 23.The written employee illness policy is on file (§2-501.11). Employee illness policy template.
  3. 24.Your temperature logs are ready to show, if your local code requires them or you keep them. When a temperature log is required.
  4. 25.Pest control visit records are on site. New York City cites missing ones as 28-06.
  5. 26.Once due, your written food safety management system with monitoring records: within four years of your regulatory authority adopting the 2026 Food Code (§8-201.15). FSMS starter template.

A printable PDF of this checklist is coming.

What the inspector checks, area by area

Food temperatures and cooling (checklist 1 to 8)

What the inspector checks. The temperature of food in cold and hot holding, and of food that is cooling. Under the FDA Food Code, cold food is held at 41°F or less and hot food at 135°F or above (§3-501.16(A)). Cooked food cools from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, and to 41°F or less within 6 hours in total (§3-501.14(A)). Local codes can differ: NYC holds hot food at 140°F or above.

In NYC: Cold food above 41°F (02G) was cited at 5,448 of 21,382 routine inspections (25%), hot food below 140°F (02B) at 4,211 (20%) and cooling (02H, 02I) at 680 (3%). Most common restaurant inspection violations in NYC has the full count and the NYC limits.

Paper logs: Our refrigerator and freezer log, hot holding log and cooling log are in °F and Letter size, with the 2026 Food Code limit each one records. Where your local limit differs, as in NYC, write your local limit on the log.

Cleaning and sanitizing (checklist 14 to 16)

What the inspector checks. Food-contact surfaces and utensils must be clean to sight and touch (§4-601.11(A)). In use with TCS food, they are cleaned at least every 4 hours (§4-602.11(C)), and each time work changes from raw food to ready-to-eat food (§4-602.11(A)(2)). Wiping cloths for counters are held in a sanitizer solution between uses (§3-304.14(B)).

In NYC: Food-contact surfaces not washed, rinsed and sanitized (06D) was cited at 5,041 inspections (24%), dishwashing and sanitizing not adequate (10G) at 1,937 (9%) and wiping cloths not dry or in sanitizer (06F) at 1,524 (7%).

Food protection and cross-contamination (checklist 11 to 13)

What the inspector checks. Raw animal food is kept apart from ready-to-eat food in storage, preparation and display (§3-302.11). Staff do not touch ready-to-eat food with bare hands. They use utensils such as tongs, deli tissue or single-use gloves (§3-301.11(B)). Ready-to-eat TCS food kept more than 24 hours is marked with the date by which it is consumed, sold or discarded: at most 7 days at 41°F or less, counting the day of preparation as day 1 (§3-501.17(A)).

In NYC: Food or supplies not protected from contamination (06C) was cited at 5,098 inspections (24%), and food contaminated or not discarded (04H) at 1,669 (8%).

Pests (checklist 18 to 21, 25)

What the inspector checks. The premises are kept free of insects, rodents and other pests. The Food Code asks you to inspect deliveries and the premises routinely, to use approved control methods when pests are found, and to remove the places where pests can live (§6-501.111).

In NYC: Conditions that let pests in or give them shelter (08A) was cited at 6,475 inspections (30%), mice or signs of mice (04L) at 3,427 (16%) and filth flies or other nuisance pests (04N) at 2,847 (13%). No pest control contract or records (28-06) was cited at 506 inspections.

Handwashing and staff hygiene (checklist 9, 10, 17, 23)

What the inspector checks. Staff wash their hands before they work with food and at the times the Food Code lists, for example after using the toilet room, when switching between raw and ready-to-eat food, and before putting on gloves (§2-301.14). A handwashing sink stays accessible and is used only for handwashing (§5-205.11). The 2026 Food Code adds a written employee illness policy, available on request (§2-501.11).

In NYC: Hand wash sink missing, blocked or not stocked (05D) was cited at 1,348 inspections (6%), and personal cleanliness (06A) at 1,190 (6%).

Certified food protection manager (checklist 22)

What the inspector checks. A person in charge is present during all hours of operation (§2-101.11(A)), and the person in charge is a certified food protection manager who passed an exam from an accredited program (§2-102.12(A)). The regulatory authority can exempt establishments it deems minimal risk (§2-102.12(B)).

In NYC: No certified food protection manager (04A) was cited at 1,779 inspections (8%).

Equipment and the building (checklist 16, 19)

What the inspector checks. Surfaces of equipment that food does not touch are kept free of dust, dirt, food residue and other debris (§4-601.11(C)). The inspector also looks at floors, drains, plumbing, lighting and ventilation.

In NYC: Non-food contact surfaces not clean or not cleanable (10F) ranked 1st of all NYC violations: 11,300 inspections (53%). Plumbing, drainage or back-flow problems (10B) was cited at 4,746 (22%).

Records (checklist 22 to 26)

Most of an inspection is what the inspector sees and measures. The records in checklist items 22 to 26 are the ones to have ready. Food Safety explains when a temperature log is required.

Patrono keeps temperature logs and checklists in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer. A reading out of range cannot be saved without a corrective action. A saved temperature record cannot be edited or deleted, and a correction is a new entry next to the original. Every record keeps who entered it and when, and an owner or manager can print any month's log for a location.

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Inspection data by city

We count the violations each city's inspectors cite from the city's own open inspection data, refresh the count every day and show the method on each page. We never name or rank individual restaurants.

Source: NYC DOHMH, Restaurant Inspection Results, NYC Open Data, dataset 43nn-pn8j, version of October 30, 2026. The counts and labels are Patrono's, not the City's.

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Frequently asked questions

What do health inspectors look for in a restaurant?

Food temperatures in cold and hot holding and during cooling, cleaning and sanitizing, protection from contamination, pests, handwashing and staff hygiene, a certified food protection manager, the condition of equipment and the building, and some records. FDA's model inspection report lists 29 risk factor items and 27 good retail practices. Your health department's form sets the exact items.

What is the most common health code violation?

It depends on the city's code and form. In New York City, from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, it was non-food contact surfaces not clean or not cleanable (10F), cited at 11,300 of 21,382 routine inspections (53%). Food at the wrong temperature (cold holding, hot holding or cooling) was cited at 8,543 of those routine inspections (40%).

What causes a restaurant to fail a health inspection?

There is no single pass mark in the US. Each health department scores with its own form. In New York City, a score of 0 to 13 points is an A, 14 to 27 a B and 28 or more a C, and 18,838 of 21,382 routine inspections (88%) cited at least one violation the City flags as Critical.

How often are restaurants inspected?

The FDA Food Code sets at least once every 6 months, and lets the regulatory authority inspect less often under a written risk-based schedule or for an establishment fully operating under an approved HACCP plan (§8-401.10). NYC schedules every restaurant for an unannounced inspection at least once a year. Ask your health department for its schedule.

Do restaurants know when the inspector is coming?

In New York City, no. NYC Health schedules every restaurant for an unannounced inspection at least once a year. Other health departments set their own practice.

Sources

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