California Jurisdiction
Marin County commercial kitchen compliance
California's 28th-largest county by commercial kitchen population. Marin County Environmental Health Services Division is the authority. Here's the methodology, the thresholds, and the fire code overlay.
Authority chain
Marin County → Marin County Environmental Health Services Division → California Retail Food Code
Marin County sits in California's mid-range by population. Inspection cadence and methodology track the state framework with local agency-specific implementation. San Rafael Fire: (415) 485-3304. Novato Fire: (415) 897-7654.
Standard 01
Food Safety
Authority
Marin County Environmental Health Services Division
- Phone
- (415) 473-6907
- Scoring type
- Major Violation Count
- Grading type
- Color Placard
Methodology
Marin County (CA) operates the "Go For Green" Green/Yellow/Red color-coded placard program enforced under the California Retail Food Code by the Marin County Environmental Health Services Division (within the Community Development Agency). Placard determination is driven by the count of major violations observed during inspection, consistent with the Bay Area Sacramento-modeled placard cluster framework. Green = PASS, Yellow = CONDITIONAL PASS, Red = CLOSED. Marin County does not publish a numeric score; placard color is the operative display. The placard program timeline: Board of Supervisors first reading June 3, 2014; merit hearing June 17, 2014; trial period July 2014; public placards visible January 2015. The public Food Inspection Search portal at cdaportal2.marincounty.org/FoodInspectionSearch has been live since November 2012, predating the placard program launch. The Marin County Open Data portal additionally hosts a machine-readable Food Facility Inspections dataset. Re-verified 2026-05-21 against current primary sources including the October 2024 Plan Check Guide for Food Facilities and the live inspection search portal; methodology unchanged since January 2015 launch.
Primary source
https://www.marincounty.gov/departments/cda/env-health-svcs/prgm-food
Last verified by JIE: May 21, 2026
Published inspection data for Marin County is mirrored on ScoreTable, direct from the agency.
Standard 02
Fire Safety
Authority having jurisdiction
Southern Marin Fire Protection District and other local fire departments
- Phone
- (415) 473-6525
- Website
- marincounty.org/fire
- Fire code edition
- 2025 CFC
- NFPA 96 edition
- 2024
- Hood cleaning default
- Quarterly
- Permit type
- Operational Fire Permit — annual renewal, pass/fail
Hood cleaning frequencies
Frequencies enforced by Southern Marin Fire Protection District and other local fire departments per NFPA 96 (2024).
| 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
Marin County Fire serves unincorporated + contract areas. San Rafael Fire, Novato Fire, Mill Valley Fire are separate city/district AHJs.
Hood cleaning enforcement
MODERATE
Reference
Frequently asked
- Who inspects commercial kitchens in Marin County?
- Marin County Environmental Health Services Division is the food safety authority for Marin County. Reach them at (415) 473-6907. 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 Marin County?
- Marin County Environmental Health Services 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 Marin County?
- Southern Marin Fire Protection District and other local fire departments is the fire authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). They enforce 2025 CFC and NFPA 96 (2024 edition) for commercial kitchen exhaust. Hood cleaning default frequency: quarterly.
- What fire code edition applies in Marin County?
- 2025 CFC is the adopted edition. NFPA 96 (2024) governs commercial kitchen exhaust systems. Local amendments: yes.
- Where can I verify Marin County inspection records?
- Primary source: https://www.marincounty.gov/departments/cda/env-health-svcs/prgm-food. EvidLY ScoreTable mirrors the latest jurisdiction-published results at https://www.getevidly.com/scoretable/california/marin.
Related coverage
What to do with this data
EvidLY
Predict the failure. Reduce the cost. Prove the work.
EvidLY reads the regulations for Marin County, identifies what's about to slip, and documents what got done — before an inspector or insurer asks.
See EvidLY pricingScoreTable
Marin County inspection data — direct from the agency.
Real inspection results for Marin County, mirrored from the jurisdiction's own published portals. No aggregation, no conversion.
View Marin County on ScoreTableFTC disclosure: Stovio Advisors is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EvidLY LLC. Cleaning Pros Plus and HoodOps share common ownership with EvidLY. These are editorial references to sister brands, not paid placements.
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