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
- Website
- inyocounty.us
- 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 / 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 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
What to do with this data
EvidLY
Predict the failure. Reduce the cost. Prove the work.
EvidLY reads the regulations for Inyo County, identifies what's about to slip, and documents what got done — before an inspector or insurer asks.
See EvidLY pricingScoreTable
Inyo County inspection data — direct from the agency.
Real inspection results for Inyo County, mirrored from the jurisdiction's own published portals. No aggregation, no conversion.
View Inyo 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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