Most common restaurant inspection violations in NYC (2026)

We counted every violation cited at routine inspections from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, once per inspection. The share is the part of all 21,382 inspections that cited the violation. "Critical" is the City's own flag. TCS food is food that needs time and temperature control for safety.

What each one means

10F Non-food contact surfaces not clean or not cleanable

Shelves, equipment exteriors and other surfaces that food does not touch are dirty, made of an unacceptable material, or not sealed, raised, spaced or movable so they can be cleaned on all sides, above and underneath.

08A Conditions that let pests in or give them shelter

The place is not free of harborage or conditions that invite rodents, insects or other pests.

02G Cold food above 41°F

Cold TCS food held above 41°F, smoked or processed fish above 38°F, intact raw eggs above 45°F, or reduced oxygen packaged food above its required temperature, outside active preparation.

06C Food or supplies not protected from contamination

Food, supplies or equipment not protected from a source of contamination during storage, preparation, transport, display or service.

06D Food-contact surfaces not washed, rinsed and sanitized

A surface that touches food was not washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use, or after something that may have contaminated it.

10B Plumbing, drainage or back-flow problems

Back-flow prevention missing where required, equipment or floor not draining properly, a sewage system not working, or liquid waste disposed of improperly.

02B Hot food below 140°F

Hot TCS food not held at 140°F or above.

04L Mice or signs of mice

Evidence of mice, or live mice, in food or non-food areas.

04N Filth flies or other nuisance pests

Filth flies, such as house flies, drain flies or fruit flies, or other nuisance pests in food or non-food areas.

10G Dishwashing and sanitizing not adequate

Cleaning and sanitizing of dishes, utensils and equipment in dishwashing is deficient.

What to check before service in each of these areas is in the restaurant health inspection checklist.

NYC inspectors measure food temperatures during the visit. Three violations cover food held at the wrong temperature, and the City flags all three as Critical. Together they were cited at 8,543 of 21,382 routine inspections (40%) and make up 10,343 of the 72,280 citations (14%). Counting every inspection type, including pre-permit visits, the share is 34%: 10,547 of 30,730 inspections.

A restaurant cited in more than one group counts once in each group, so the rows add up to more than 7,129.

The inspector sees one day. A log shows the days in between. On paper or in an app, these are the parts of a temperature log that matter for cold holding, hot holding and cooling:

• A reading at set times. Each cold and hot holding unit, at the times your plan sets, for example at opening and before dinner service.
• The limit next to the reading. In NYC, 41°F for cold holding and 140°F for hot holding.
• A corrective action for every reading out of range. What was done, and who did it.
• A name and a time on every entry. A reading is written when it is taken, not from memory at the end of the week.

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.

If you keep the cold side on paper, our refrigerator and freezer log uses 41°F, the general NYC cold holding limit. We email it as a fillable PDF and a Word file.

NYC Health schedules every restaurant for an unannounced inspection at least once a year. Each violation carries points. A score of 0 to 13 is an A, 14 to 27 a B and 28 or more a C.

18,838 of the 21,382 routine inspections (88%) cited at least one violation the City flags as Critical.

• Source. The NYC Health Department's restaurant inspection results on NYC Open Data, dataset 43nn-pn8j, as of October 30, 2026.
• Period. Inspections dated October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026: 12 full months, ending with the last month that had at least a week to settle before the City's data pull. The page reads the City's data again every day, and the 12-month period moves forward once a month.
• Routine inspections. Inspections in the City's inspection cycle: initial inspections, re-inspections, reopening and compliance inspections. Pre-permit, administrative and program inspections (smoke-free air, calorie posting, trans fat, sodium warning) are not counted.
• Counting. An inspection is one restaurant on one date with one inspection type. A violation counts once per inspection. The data repeats some violation rows (158 in this period), and we count each one once.
• Restaurants in the data. The City's dataset holds only restaurants with an active status on the day of the data pull, so restaurants that closed are not counted, and counts for a past period can go down over time. It includes violations that are sustained or not yet adjudicated.
• Temperature groups. Cold holding is 02G, hot holding 02B, cooling 02H and 02I. Thermometer violations (04J, 10E) are shown separately.
• Routine and all inspection types. The 40% counts routine inspections. Counting every inspection type, including pre-permit visits, the share is 34%: 10,547 of 30,730 inspections.
• Rounding. Shares are rounded to the nearest whole percent from the counts shown.
• We never name or rank individual restaurants.

Source: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), "DOHMH New York City Restaurant Inspection Results", NYC Open Data, dataset 43nn-pn8j, version of October 30, 2026. The counts, groups and labels on this page are Patrono's, not the City's.