California Health Department
Santa Clara County commercial kitchen compliance
County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health, Consumer Protection Division is the authority. Here's the methodology, the thresholds, and the fire code overlay.
Authority chain
Santa Clara County → County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health, Consumer Protection Division → California Retail Food Code
The volume of commercial kitchens in Santa Clara County drives the methodology — the agency has to scale documentation and posting across thousands of facilities. San Jose Fire: (408) 535-7600. Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (combined police/fire): (408) 730-7100. Santa Clara County Fire serves unincorporated and contract cities. San Jose Fire, Santa Clara City Fire, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety, and other city fire departments serve incorporated cities.
Standard 01
Food Safety
Authority
County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health, Consumer Protection Division
- Phone
- (408) 918-3400
- Website
- deh.santaclaracounty.gov
- Scoring type
- Major Violation Count
- Grading type
- Color Placard
- Office
- 1555 Berger Drive, Suite 300, San Jose, California 95112
Methodology
Statutory base: California Retail Food Code (Health and Safety Code Division 104, Part 7, §§113700-114437). Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health Consumer Protection Division operates the Food Facility Placarding and Scoring Program. Two parallel outputs on every routine inspection: (1) Green/Yellow/Red placard determined by CalCode §113725 major violation count, and (2) 0-100 compliance score on the Official Inspection Report calculated as 100 minus weighted point deductions (Major=8, Moderate=3, Minor=2). The compliance score is supplementary display; placard color is the regulatory outcome and is NOT score-threshold based. Violation taxonomy is 50 K-codes: K01-K23 are Risk Factors & Interventions (Major candidates), K24-K47 are Good Retail Practices (Minor candidates), K48/K49/K58 are administrative. K-section partition does not bind classification: inspector judgment on the day of inspection determines whether an observed finding is Major, Moderate, or Minor, with point weights attached to the classification rather than to the K-code. Measured Observations section captures temperature point-readings per inspection (cross-validation anchor for pencil-whipping detection). Risk Category (1-3) embedded in the Program code on the Official Inspection Report. Placard coverage: permanent retail food facilities only; mobile food facilities, catering operations, and temporary food facilities are not placarded under this program.
Inspection results published by the agency are mirrored at Santa Clara County on ScoreTable.
Primary source
https://deh.santaclaracounty.gov/food-and-retail/compliance-retail-food-operations/food-facility-placarding-and-scoring-program
Last verified by JIE: May 21, 2026
Published inspection data for Santa Clara County is mirrored on ScoreTable, direct from the agency.
Hood cleaning in Santa Clara County — Cleaning Pros Plus, LLC, a member of the International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association.
Health department detail
What makes Santa Clara County distinct
Standard 02
Fire Safety
Authority having jurisdiction
In Santa Clara County, fire code authority rests with Santa Clara County Fire Marshal.
- Phone
- (408) 378-4010
- Website
- sccfd.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 Santa Clara County Fire Marshal 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
HIGH — Silicon Valley tech campuses + dense restaurant industry; strong enforcement
Reference
Frequently asked
- Who inspects commercial kitchens in Santa Clara County?
- County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health, Consumer Protection Division is the food safety authority for Santa Clara County. Reach them at (408) 918-3400. 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 Santa Clara County?
- County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health, Consumer Protection 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 Santa Clara County?
- In Santa Clara County, fire code authority rests with Santa Clara County Fire Marshal. 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 Santa Clara County?
- The 2025 California Fire Code is the adopted edition. NFPA 96 (2021) governs commercial kitchen exhaust systems. Ask Santa Clara County Fire Marshal whether Santa Clara County has adopted local amendments to the 2025 California Fire Code.
- Where can I verify Santa Clara County inspection records?
- Primary source: https://deh.santaclaracounty.gov. EvidLY ScoreTable mirrors the latest health-department-published results at https://www.getevidly.com/scoretable/california/santa-clara.
Related coverage
What to do with this data
EvidLY
Predict the failure. Reduce the cost. Prove the work.
EvidLY reads the regulations for Santa Clara County, identifies what's about to slip, and documents what got done — before an inspector or insurer asks.
See EvidLY pricingScoreTable
Santa Clara County inspection data — direct from the agency.
Real inspection results for Santa Clara County, mirrored from the health department's own published portals. No aggregation, no conversion.
View Santa Clara County on ScoreTableCleaning Pros Plus
Hood cleaning, done to the standard.
Commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning in Santa Clara County and across the Central Valley, the Bay Area and Northern California. Cleaning Pros Plus is an IKECA member. Documentation included.
Visit Cleaning Pros PlusFTC 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.
The first data-verified kitchen recognition program
Two standards, independently verified. No aggregated score, no marketing-grade rubric — just verified primary-source evidence that a kitchen runs to the standard. Launching California first.
Excellence Verified.