The Commercial Kitchen Standard

California Jurisdiction

Inyo County commercial kitchen compliance

California's 51st-largest county by commercial kitchen population. Inyo County Environmental Health Department is the authority. Here's the methodology, the thresholds, and the fire code overlay.

Authority chain

Inyo County → Inyo County Environmental Health Department → California Retail Food Code

Inyo County is a smaller California jurisdiction. Inspection volume is lower than the metro counties, but the statutory framework — California Retail Food Code — is identical. The jurisdiction oversees approximately 150 permitted food facilities. The county seat is Independence. Bishop Fire: (760) 873-8348. Very low commercial kitchen density.

Standard 01

Food Safety

Authority

Inyo County Environmental Health Department

Phone
(760) 878-0238
Scoring type
None
Grading type
None
Permitted facilities
~150
Office
1360 N. Main St., Bishop, CA 93514

Methodology

Inyo County operates a CalCode-only retail food safety program through a standalone Environmental Health Department. No local placard ordinance, no letter grade system, no numeric scoring overlay, no rating tier, no public-facing inspection portal for food. Canonical mission statement from directly-fetched EH landing page: "Inyo County Environmental Health Department's mission is to prevent environmental public health hazards. We succeed by being a responsive team that prevents these hazards through environmental education and consistent enforcement, when necessary, of the facilities and programs under our jurisdiction." 13-program EH scope: Environmental Drilling, Harmful Algal Blooms, Organized Camps, Food, Hazardous Materials (CUPA), Solid Waste, Drinking Water, Residential Septic Systems, Recreational Water, Vector Control, Housing, Body Art, and Water Lab. Director: Jerry Oser. Standard CalCode retail food regulatory framework with specific Compact Mobile Food Operation (CMFO) application track. October 2025 Open Gov portal launch (countyofinyoca.portal.opengov.com) now includes Temporary Food Application submission alongside wells/septic.

Inspection results published by the agency are mirrored at Inyo County on ScoreTable.

Primary source

Direct web_fetch of https://www.inyocounty.us/services/environmental-health -- complete content verification this session including 13-program EH scope, Director Jerry Oser (direct phone 760-873-7866), address (1360 N. Main St., Bishop), EH phone (760) 878-0238, email inyoehd@inyocounty.us, hours M-F 8am-5pm, Open Gov portal launch October 2025, Water Lab program, Spanish-language application apparatus, CMFO classification track, Inyo+Mono shared services, food sub-program inventory.

Last verified by JIE: May 21, 2026

Published inspection data for Inyo County is mirrored on ScoreTable, direct from the agency.

Jurisdiction detail

What makes Inyo County distinct

Standalone EH Department in the population center, not the county seat
EH Department operates from Bishop (the largest population center and commercial hub) even though Independence is the formal county seat. Operationally similar to El Dorado's split pattern but with primary office in population center rather than county seat.
13-program EH scope including in-house Water Lab
Inyo's EH operates 13 distinct programs including an in-house bacteriological Water Lab program -- broader scope than typical small-county EH departments. The Water Lab addresses Eastern Sierra rural geography (private wells common, tourism/RV water systems prevalent).
Spanish-language application apparatus for food vendor populations
Four Spanish-language food application documents published on canonical EH page (CMFO Guidance, CMFO Application, MFF Application, New Food Facility Guidance) -- indicates non-trivial Spanish-speaking operator base. Distinct from many other small CA counties that publish only English documentation.
October 2025 Open Gov portal launch with food submission inclusion
Recent (October 2025) launch of Open Gov portal for application submissions. Initial announcement emphasized wells/septic but the canonical page carousel confirms Temporary Food Application submission is also in the portal scope.
Compact Mobile Food Operation (CMFO) specific application track
CMFO is a specific CA mobile food classification (non-vehicle small carts/push carts) with distinct permitting requirements. Inyo maintains separate guidance documents and application forms for CMFO -- distinct from Mobile Food Facility (vehicle-based) permits.
Inyo+Mono shared regulatory services (agricultural, weights/measures, weed management, child support)
Eastern Sierra rural cluster operational pattern: Inyo and Mono share several regulatory and extension services across both counties. EH/food safety is NOT shared (each county has its own EH), but adjacent regulatory infrastructure is cross-county integrated.

Standard 02

Fire Safety

Authority having jurisdiction

Local fire departments - specific AHJ not identified

Phone
(760) 878-0262
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 Local fire departments - specific AHJ not identified per NFPA 96 (2021).

Cooking volume / typeFrequency
Solid-fuel cookingMonthly
High-volume / 24-hour / charbroil / wokQuarterly
Moderate-volumeSemiannually
Low-volume / seasonal / place of worshipAnnually

Local amendments adopted

CAL FIRE contract. City of Bishop Fire is separate AHJ. Death Valley NPS also has federal AHJ for park facilities.

Hood cleaning enforcement

LOW

Reference

Frequently asked

Who inspects commercial kitchens in Inyo County?
Inyo County Environmental Health Department is the food safety authority for Inyo County. Reach them at (760) 878-0238. California Retail Food Code (CRFC) provides the statutory base; the agency conducts inspections and documents findings through narrative violation reports.
How are inspection results communicated in Inyo County?
Inyo County Environmental Health Department documents inspections through narrative violation reports; no letter grade or numeric score is assigned. Results are available to the public through the agency's published portals.
Who enforces fire and hood-cleaning rules in Inyo County?
Local fire departments - specific AHJ not identified 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 Inyo County?
2025 CFC is the adopted edition. NFPA 96 (2021) governs commercial kitchen exhaust systems. Local amendments: yes.
Where can I verify Inyo County inspection records?
Primary source: https://www.inyocounty.us/services/environmental-health. EvidLY ScoreTable mirrors the latest jurisdiction-published results at https://www.getevidly.com/scoretable/california/inyo.

Related coverage

FTC 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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