The New York City Department of Health conducts unannounced inspections of restaurants at least once a year to monitor compliance with New York City and New York State food safety regulations. The following establishments are subject to a letter grading inspection: restaurants, coffee shops, bars, nightclubs, most cafeterias, fixed-site food stands.

Since 2010, the Health Department has ordered restaurants to post letter grades of the sanitary inspection results.  The scale used to determine the letter grading is as follows: “A” = a score between 0 and 13; “B” = a score between 14 to 27 points; “C” = a score of more than 28 points.  A score of lower than 28 points results in an ungraded inspection.

Here’s what you need to know about the failure of an inspection: (i) the restaurant will be subject to a compliance inspection to ensure that all health code violations have been inspected; (ii) the restaurant will be issued a “grade pending” letter grade card; and (iii) the total amount of the fines associated with the violations are substantial.

The Health Department’s timing of inspections is set on an “inspection cycle”.  The “inspection cycle” consists of an initial inspection, and in some cases, a re-inspection, and periodic compliance inspections.

• Initial Inspection: The first sanitary inspection within an inspection cycle.
• Re-inspection: A sanitary inspection conducted for the purpose of grading following a score of 14 or more points on an Initial Inspection.
• Compliance Inspection: An un-graded inspection following a score of more than 28 points on a Re-Inspection or prior Compliance Inspection.

Here’s what you need to know about the timing of the Health Department’s inspection intervals: 0-13 points = approximately once a year; 14-27 points = 150 to 210 days after Re-inspection; 29 or more points = 90 to 150 days after an inspection cycles ends.

Helpful Resources:

You can learn more about Health Department’s scoring system here.