Look up a state / NC
Restaurant inspections in North Carolina
Who inspects, where the record lives, what the public actually sees, and whether it has to be posted on the door. Every line below links to the government source it came from.
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01
Who inspects
Delegated to county health departments, supervised by NC DHHS Division of Public Health, Environmental Health Section, whose Inspections, Statistics and Fees Unit maintains a statewide database of inspection statistics Agency page
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What the public sees
Inspections start at 100 and points are deducted per violation: 90-100 is A, 80-89.5 is B, 70-79.5 is C, and below 70 results in immediate permit revocation. The letter grade and numeric score are shown side by side. Source
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Posting the result
Required to be posted. Sanitation grade cards are posted by the Environmental Health Specialist in locations readily visible to the public upon entry, as required by N.C.G.S.A. § 130A-249, with the letter grade and numeric score shown side by side. Rule
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Food code in force
2017 FDA Food Code (with Supplement). The FDA Food Code is a model, not a federal mandate — each state decides which edition to adopt and how far to amend it.
| Where to search | Coverage |
|---|---|
| NC statewide/county public inspection search | Statewide |
| NC DPH Data Portal | Statewide |
If you run the restaurant
The record is public either way. The useful move is to read it before a customer does.
Pull your own record
Search yourself in the lookup above and read every line of the last three reports. Repeat violations are what escalate.
Work the ten risk factors
Most citations trace back to the same ten practices the FDA measures nationally. Run the ten-minute self-check.
Fix, document, re-inspect
Dated photos and a written correction log are what a re-inspection rewards. What to do after a bad inspection.
Other states
North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island — or see all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Improved a bad record in North Carolina?
Our recognition program is for recovery, not for perfection. Nominations for the inaugural class are open.