California Jurisdiction
Contra Costa County commercial kitchen compliance
California's 11th-largest county by commercial kitchen population. Contra Costa Health, Environmental Health Division -- Retail Food Program is the authority. Here's the methodology, the thresholds, and the fire code overlay.
Authority chain
Contra Costa County → Contra Costa Health, Environmental Health Division -- Retail Food Program → California Retail Food Code
Contra Costa County sits in California's mid-range by population. Inspection cadence and methodology track the state framework with local agency-specific implementation. The jurisdiction oversees approximately 5,500 permitted food facilities. Major cities include Concord, Richmond, Antioch, Walnut Creek, Pittsburg, Brentwood, and 11 more. Restaurant density concentrates along I-680 and I-80 corridors; East Bay BART suburbs. Verify district — Richmond Fire: (510) 307-8060. Concord Fire: (925) 671-3220.
Standard 01
Food Safety
Authority
Contra Costa Health, Environmental Health Division -- Retail Food Program
- Scoring type
- Major Violation Count
- Grading type
- Color Placard
- Permitted facilities
- ~5,500
- Office
- 2120 Diamond Boulevard, Suite 100, Concord, CA 94520
Methodology
Contra Costa County operates a distinctive 4-color placarding program under Contra Costa Health, Environmental Health Division. Per the canonical Restaurant Inspections page: "The placard is a red, yellow, green or white card that a food facility displays so that customers can easily see the inspection status." This is the only CA jurisdiction documented this session with a 4-state placard architecture (RED, YELLOW, GREEN, WHITE) -- all other placard-family CA counties (San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sacramento, Butte, Alameda) use 3-state placards. Mobile food facilities that prepare, cook or heat food also receive placards at the end of inspection -- broader scope than placard-family counties that exclude mobile from placarding. Methodology page does not publicly define the WHITE placard state -- documented as followup item. Authority: California Retail Food Code. EHD scope is structurally broader than typical CA EHDs: also handles Industrial Safety Ordinance, California Accidental Release Prevention (CalARP) Program, Martinez Refining Company oversight, and Hazardous Materials programs. Coordinates with Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD) for restaurant grease/wastewater compliance.
Inspection results published by the agency are mirrored at Contra Costa County on ScoreTable.
Primary source
Direct web_fetch of https://www.cchealth.org/health-and-safety-information/food-safety-permits/restaurant-inspections -- 4-color placarding system (red, yellow, green, white) and mobile food facility placarding scope both directly verified via primary source quote. Berkeley 2024 audit reference + Arthur research notes for portal best-practice citation and wastewater coordination details.
Last verified by JIE: May 21, 2026
Published inspection data for Contra Costa County is mirrored on ScoreTable, direct from the agency.
Jurisdiction detail
What makes Contra Costa County distinct
- 4-state color placard architecture (RED/YELLOW/GREEN/WHITE)
- Only CA jurisdiction documented this session with a 4-state placard. All other CA placard-family counties use 3-state placards. The 4th state (WHITE) is publicly displayed but its semantic meaning is not defined on the canonical methodology page -- followup needed.
- Mobile food facilities included in placarding program (broader scope than 3-state placard counties)
- Mobile food facilities that prepare, cook or heat food receive placards at the end of inspection. SF, Marin, Sonoma, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Sacramento generally exclude mobile from placarding. Operationally significant for any vendor or operator working across multiple Bay Area counties -- placarding obligations differ.
- EH Division authority integrated with refinery/petrochemical oversight
- Industrial Safety Ordinance, CalARP, Martinez Refining Company Oversight all sit alongside food safety under the same EH authority structure. Most other CA county EHDs handle only food/recreational/hazmat-CUPA scope without explicit refinery oversight.
- Wastewater coordination via CCCSD special district
- Restaurant grease/wastewater compliance coordinated through Central Contra Costa Sanitary District rather than joint EHD inspection. Multi-line operators may face dual food + wastewater enforcement pathways.
Standard 02
Fire Safety
Authority having jurisdiction
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
- Phone
- (925) 941-3300
- Website
- cccfpd.org
- 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 Contra Costa County Fire Protection District 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
Con Fire serves most of Contra Costa County. East Contra Costa Fire Protection District and city fire depts (Richmond, Concord, Pittsburg, Antioch) serve other areas.
Hood cleaning enforcement
MODERATE
Reference
Frequently asked
- Who inspects commercial kitchens in Contra Costa County?
- Contra Costa Health, Environmental Health Division -- Retail Food Program is the food safety authority for Contra Costa County. 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 Contra Costa County?
- Contra Costa Health, Environmental Health Division -- Retail Food Program 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 Contra Costa County?
- Contra Costa County Fire Protection District 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 Contra Costa County?
- 2025 CFC is the adopted edition. NFPA 96 (2021) governs commercial kitchen exhaust systems. Local amendments: yes.
- Where can I verify Contra Costa County inspection records?
- Primary source: https://www.cchealth.org/about-contra-costa-health/divisions/environmental-health. EvidLY ScoreTable mirrors the latest jurisdiction-published results at https://www.getevidly.com/scoretable/california/contra-costa.
Related coverage
What to do with this data
EvidLY
Predict the failure. Reduce the cost. Prove the work.
EvidLY reads the regulations for Contra Costa County, identifies what's about to slip, and documents what got done — before an inspector or insurer asks.
See EvidLY pricingScoreTable
Contra Costa County inspection data — direct from the agency.
Real inspection results for Contra Costa County, mirrored from the jurisdiction's own published portals. No aggregation, no conversion.
View Contra Costa 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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