Look up a state / WA
Restaurant inspections in Washington
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 local (county/district) health jurisdictions, with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) providing rules and program support Agency page
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What the public sees
Format varies by locality. King County uses a four-tier smiley-face rating — Excellent, Good, Okay, Needs to improve — determined by the trend of food safety practices over time rather than a single score. Source
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Posting the result
Posting rule varies locally. King County establishments display a food safety rating sign with smiley faces; no statewide requirement was found. Statewide, DOH tells consumers to ask the restaurant for its last inspection report. 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 |
|---|---|
| King County search food safety ratings | County |
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
West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming · Alabama · Alaska · Arizona — or see all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Improved a bad record in Washington?
Our recognition program is for recovery, not for perfection. Nominations for the inaugural class are open.