Sonoma County commercial kitchen compliance

Sonoma County (CA) operates a Green/Yellow/Red color-coded placard program enforced under the California Retail Food Code and Sonoma County Code Chapter 14 by Sonoma County Environmental Health & Safety (Consumer Protection Program, within the Department of Health Services Public Health Division). The program is operational since July 1, 2015. Placard determination is driven by the count of major violations observed during inspection. Green Placard = PASS ("An acceptable level of compliance was achieved. No more than one major violation was observed and corrected at the time of inspection."). Yellow Placard = CONDITIONAL PASS ("Two or more major violations were observed and corrected at time of inspection."). Red Placard = CLOSED (facility closure). Sonoma County does not publish a public-facing numeric score; placard color is the sole public display. Placards must be posted in the front window within 5 feet of the front door, in a display case mounted on the outside front wall within 5 feet, or at another approved location. Inspection reports use Sonoma County Food Facility Official Inspection Report Form A — 48 numbered violation categories cross-referenced to Health & Safety Code sections with per-item status codes IN / N/O / N/A / Major / Minor / COS. All food facilities are inspected at least once per year, with extensive-preparation and moderate-preparation categories inspected approximately twice per year. New food facility permits trigger initial inspection within 30 days. Approximately 3,950 retail food facilities are permitted countywide.