California Jurisdiction
Santa Clara County commercial kitchen compliance
California's 9th-largest county by commercial kitchen population. 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
Santa Clara County is among California's ten largest by population. The volume of commercial kitchens here drives the methodology — the agency has to scale documentation and posting across thousands of facilities. San Jose Fire: (408) 535-7600. Sunnyvale DPS (combined police/fire): (408) 730-7100.
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
Methodology
Statutory base: California Retail Food Code (H&SC Division 104, Part 7, §§113700-114437). Santa Clara County DEH 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 (OIR) 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 (RC 1-3) embedded in the Program code on the OIR. Placard coverage: permanent retail food facilities only; mobile food facilities, catering operations, and temporary food facilities are not placarded under this program.
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.
Standard 02
Fire Safety
Authority having jurisdiction
Santa Clara County Fire Marshal
- Phone
- (408) 378-4010
- Website
- sccfd.org
- Fire code edition
- 2025 CFC
- NFPA 96 edition
- 2024
- 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 (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
Santa Clara County Fire serves unincorporated + contract cities. San Jose Fire, Santa Clara City Fire, Sunnyvale DPS, and other city fire depts serve incorporated cities.
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 (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 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?
- Santa Clara County Fire Marshal is the fire authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). They enforce 2025 CFC and NFPA 96 (2024 edition) for commercial kitchen exhaust. Hood cleaning default frequency: semi annual.
- What fire code edition applies in Santa Clara County?
- 2025 CFC is the adopted edition. NFPA 96 (2024) governs commercial kitchen exhaust systems. Local amendments: yes.
- Where can I verify Santa Clara County inspection records?
- Primary source: https://deh.santaclaracounty.gov. EvidLY ScoreTable mirrors the latest jurisdiction-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 jurisdiction's own published portals. No aggregation, no conversion.
View Santa Clara 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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