California Jurisdiction
Butte County commercial kitchen compliance
California's 29th-largest county by commercial kitchen population. Butte County Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division is the authority. Here's the methodology, the thresholds, and the fire code overlay.
Authority chain
Butte County → Butte County Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division → California Retail Food Code
Butte County sits in California's mid-range by population. Inspection cadence and methodology track the state framework with local agency-specific implementation. Chico Fire: (530) 897-5151. Paradise Fire: (530) 877-8585. Camp Fire history = heightened inspection awareness in this county.
Standard 01
Food Safety
Authority
Butte County Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division
- Phone
- 530-552-3880
- Website
- buttecounty.net/publichealth
- Scoring type
- Major Violation Count
- Grading type
- Color Placard
- Office
- 202 Mira Loma Drive, Oroville, CA 95965
Methodology
Placard-based program (Butte County Code Chapter 18B, adopted May 6, 2014). Three-state placard issued at conclusion of each routine inspection or re-inspection: Green PASS, Yellow Conditional PASS, or Red CLOSED. Green issued when no more than one major violation is observed AND that violation is mitigated or corrected during the inspection. Yellow issued when (a) two or more majors are observed, OR (b) a compliance agreement for non-major correction is violated, OR (c) the same single major has been observed in three consecutive inspections. Red issued when any major violation poses an imminent health hazard that cannot be mitigated or corrected during the inspection. No numeric score is produced; placard color is the sole grading output. Closure is determined by Red placard issuance (imminent health hazard) or by CalCode permit suspension/revocation after failed phased-intervention sequence. Authority: California Retail Food Code (Cal Code) + Butte County Code Chapter 18B. Inspection framework details (68 inspection items across 51 base numbers with split categorization) are captured per the November 18, 2025 Field Inspection Guide.
Inspection results published by the agency are mirrored at Butte County on ScoreTable.
Primary source
Butte County Retail Food Field Inspection Guide (2025-11-18) + Butte County Green-Yellow-Red Placard Program Informational Packet (2022-06-10)
Last verified by JIE: May 21, 2026
Published inspection data for Butte County is mirrored on ScoreTable, direct from the agency.
Jurisdiction detail
What makes Butte County distinct
- Single mitigated major still earns Green PASS
- Most strict Bay Area placard programs require zero uncorrected majors for Green; Butte allows one mitigated major
- Three-consecutive-inspections same-major rule triggers Yellow
- Recurrence-based Yellow trigger penalizes chronic non-compliance even when individually mitigated
- Compliance Agreement enforceability tied to Yellow placard
- Written Compliance Agreement between facility and EH for non-major violations becomes enforceable via placard demotion if timetable missed
- Phased intervention protocol with billable escalation
- Explicit escalation pathway: 2nd reinspection (letter + ed materials, billable), 3rd reinspection (food safety class or compliance meeting, billable), then CalCode suspension/revocation
- Affected-area-only Red placard for multi-permit facilities
- Supermarkets with separately permitted delis/bakeries can isolate the affected area with Red while remainder operates Green/Yellow, provided isolation and safe-operation conditions are met
- Risk-based inspection frequency tiers (A/B/C) defined in county program
- Local program documents A=2/yr, B=1-2/yr, C=1/yr based on facility complexity
- 68-item inspection framework with Butte-specific split categorization (14a/b, 30a/b/c, 31a/b, 35a-d, 36a-d, 38a/b, 39a/b, 44a-e)
- Butte uses a more granular item subdivision than the CalCode-standard 54-item form (used by e.g. San Bernardino)
Standard 02
Fire Safety
Authority having jurisdiction
CAL FIRE/Butte County Fire Department - Fire Marshal Bureau
- Phone
- (530) 538-7111
- Website
- buttecounty.net/fire
- Fire code edition
- 2025 CFC
- NFPA 96 edition
- 2021
- Hood cleaning default
- Quarterly
- Permit type
- Operational Fire Permit — annual renewal, pass/fail
Hood cleaning frequencies
Frequencies enforced by CAL FIRE/Butte County Fire Department - Fire Marshal Bureau per NFPA 96 (2021).
| Cooking volume / type | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Solid-fuel cooking | Monthly |
| High-volume / 24-hour / charbroil / wok | Quarterly |
| Moderate-volume | Semiannually |
| Low-volume / seasonal / place of worship | Annually |
Local amendments adopted
CAL FIRE contract. City of Chico Fire Dept and Oroville Fire are separate AHJs within city limits. NOTE: Paradise Fire Dept serves Town of Paradise — post-Camp Fire reconstruction has elevated fire code scrutiny significantly.
Hood cleaning enforcement
MODERATE-HIGH — post-Camp Fire scrutiny elevated county-wide
Reference
Frequently asked
- Who inspects commercial kitchens in Butte County?
- Butte County Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division is the food safety authority for Butte County. Reach them at 530-552-3880. California Retail Food Code (CRFC) provides the statutory base; the agency conducts inspections, scores them per local methodology, and posts results to the public.
- How are inspection results communicated in Butte County?
- Butte County Public Health Department, Environmental Health Division documents inspections per color placard methodology. Results are available to the public through the agency's published portals.
- Who enforces fire and hood-cleaning rules in Butte County?
- CAL FIRE/Butte County Fire Department - Fire Marshal Bureau is the fire authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). They enforce 2025 CFC and NFPA 96 (2021 edition) for commercial kitchen exhaust. Hood cleaning default frequency: quarterly.
- What fire code edition applies in Butte County?
- 2025 CFC is the adopted edition. NFPA 96 (2021) governs commercial kitchen exhaust systems. Local amendments: yes.
- Where can I verify Butte County inspection records?
- Primary source: https://buttecounty.net/publichealth. EvidLY ScoreTable mirrors the latest jurisdiction-published results at https://www.getevidly.com/scoretable/california/butte.
Related coverage
What to do with this data
EvidLY
Predict the failure. Reduce the cost. Prove the work.
EvidLY reads the regulations for Butte County, identifies what's about to slip, and documents what got done — before an inspector or insurer asks.
See EvidLY pricingScoreTable
Butte County inspection data — direct from the agency.
Real inspection results for Butte County, mirrored from the jurisdiction's own published portals. No aggregation, no conversion.
View Butte County on ScoreTableFTC disclosure: Stovio Advisors is a Cleaning Pros Plus, LLC company. Cleaning Pros Plus, HoodOps, and EvidLY (with ScoreTable) are commonly owned. Links to these sister brands are editorial references, not paid placements, and do not influence coverage. Vendor Network placements are paid and labeled as such; they do not influence editorial coverage.
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