California Health Department
San Diego County commercial kitchen compliance
County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality is the authority. Here's the methodology, the thresholds, and the fire code overlay.
Authority chain
San Diego County → County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality — Food and Housing Division → California Retail Food Code
The volume of commercial kitchens in San Diego County drives the methodology — the agency has to scale documentation and posting across thousands of facilities. The health department oversees approximately 14,000 permitted food facilities. County Fire Authority (unincorporated) vs. San Diego Fire-Rescue Dept (City of San Diego). Most commercial kitchens in city limits = San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is AHJ. San Diego County Fire Authority serves unincorporated areas. City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department is a separate authority having jurisdiction for incorporated city.
Standard 01
Food Safety
Authority
County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality — Food and Housing Division
- Phone
- (858) 505-6900
- Scoring type
- Points Deduction 100
- Grading type
- Letter Grade
- Permitted facilities
- ~14,000
- Office
- 5500 Overland Ave #110, San Diego, California 92123
- Pass threshold
- 90
- Warning threshold
- 80
- Critical threshold
- 79
Methodology
San Diego County uses a 100-point deduction model for retail food facility inspections. Score = 100 minus the sum of points deducted for observed violations. Letter grades are assigned as: A (90-100 points, satisfactory compliance), B (80-89 points, significant improvement needed), C (below 80 points, failing). Facilities receiving a B or C grade must earn an A within 30 days or face additional enforcement action. The inspection report has 51 items: items 1-23 are risk-factor categories with major/minor violation columns (MAJ OUT / MIN OUT / corrected onsite / PTS LOST) covering Centers for Disease Control and Prevention five risk factors and Food and Drug Administration five public health interventions, and items 24-51 are minor-only categories covering supervision, personal cleanliness, general food safety, food storage/display/service, equipment/utensils/linens, physical facilities, permanent food facilities, sign requirements, and compliance/enforcement. Major violations are tied to CalCode and enumerated in Appendix B of the Operator's Guide (19 specific major violation types). Major violations require immediate correction or closure of impacted area/process. Authority is the California Retail Food Code (CalCode) supplemented by San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality grade card and posting program.
Inspection results published by the agency are mirrored at San Diego County on ScoreTable.
Primary source
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/deh/fhd/food/food.html (2016 Operator's Guide Third Edition + current landing page captured 2026-05-21)
Last verified by JIE: May 21, 2026
Published inspection data for San Diego County is mirrored on ScoreTable, direct from the agency.
Health department detail
What makes San Diego County distinct
Standard 02
Fire Safety
Authority having jurisdiction
In San Diego County, fire code authority rests with San Diego County Fire Authority.
- Phone
- (858) 565-5252
- Website
- sdfireauthority.org
- Fire code edition
- 2025 California Fire Code
- NFPA 96 edition
- 2021
- Hood cleaning default
- Semi Annual
- Permit type
- Operational Fire Permit — annual renewal, pass/fail
Hood cleaning frequencies
Frequencies enforced by San Diego County Fire Authority 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 |
Hood cleaning enforcement
MODERATE — certificate verification on inspection
Reference
Frequently asked
- Who inspects commercial kitchens in San Diego County?
- County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality — Food and Housing Division is the food safety authority for San Diego County. Reach them at (858) 505-6900. California Retail Food Code 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 San Diego County?
- County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health and Quality — Food and Housing Division documents inspections per letter grade methodology. Results are available to the public through the agency's published portals.
- Who enforces fire and hood-cleaning rules in San Diego County?
- In San Diego County, fire code authority rests with San Diego County Fire Authority. Enforcement covers the 2025 California Fire Code and NFPA 96 (2021 edition) for commercial kitchen exhaust. Hood cleaning default frequency: semi annual.
- What fire code edition applies in San Diego County?
- The 2025 California Fire Code is the adopted edition. NFPA 96 (2021) governs commercial kitchen exhaust systems. Ask San Diego County Fire Authority whether San Diego County has adopted local amendments to the 2025 California Fire Code.
- Where can I verify San Diego County inspection records?
- Primary source: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/deh/fhd/food/food.html. EvidLY ScoreTable mirrors the latest health-department-published results at https://www.getevidly.com/scoretable/california/san-diego.
Related coverage
What to do with this data
EvidLY
Predict the failure. Reduce the cost. Prove the work.
EvidLY reads the regulations for San Diego County, identifies what's about to slip, and documents what got done — before an inspector or insurer asks.
See EvidLY pricingScoreTable
San Diego County inspection data — direct from the agency.
Real inspection results for San Diego County, mirrored from the health department's own published portals. No aggregation, no conversion.
View San Diego 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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