LA County restaurant letter grades: what A, B and C really mean

The letter card in a Los Angeles County restaurant window is the result of its latest routine health inspection by the LA County Department of Public Health. An A means a score of 90 to 100, a B means 80 to 89 and a C means 70 to 79; anything below 70 is posted as a number instead of a letter. The grade is a useful snapshot of food safety on one day, not a review of the food.

How does LA County score a restaurant inspection?

Every routine inspection starts at 100 points. The inspector deducts points for each violation found, and each type of violation carries a set number of points based on its risk to public health. A problem that could make someone sick, such as food held at the wrong temperature, costs more than a minor maintenance issue. The final score decides the letter:

Score	What is posted
90 to 100	A
80 to 89	B
70 to 79	C
69 or below	The numerical score, with no letter

The county describes an A as generally superior, a B as generally good and a C as generally acceptable in food handling practices and overall food facility maintenance.

Where do you find the grade?

Restaurants must post the grade card where customers can see it, usually in the front window or near the entrance. Both the letter and the actual score must be posted. Food trucks and other food facilities in the county are graded too, so look for the card on the truck.

What happens if a restaurant scores below 70?

A score below 70 means no letter at all: the restaurant posts its score instead. Food facilities that score below 70 twice within a 12-month period are subject to closure and further legal action. Separately, inspectors can close a restaurant immediately if they find an imminent health hazard, such as a sewage problem, no hot water or a pest infestation, regardless of score.

Why does Los Angeles use letter grades?

The system dates to the late 1990s. In November 1997 a Los Angeles TV station broadcast a hidden-camera series showing unsanitary conditions in restaurant kitchens across the county. The public outcry led the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to require restaurants to post their hygiene grades, and the rule took effect in January 1998. Los Angeles became one of the best-known examples of restaurant grading in the country.

Does every city in LA County use the grades?

Not all of them. Pasadena, Long Beach and Vernon run their own health departments, separate from the county, and do their own restaurant inspections. If you are eating in one of those cities, look up that city's own health department for inspection information. Everywhere else in the county, the LA County Department of Public Health is in charge.

This matters for food lovers, because Pasadena and Long Beach both have busy restaurant scenes. A missing letter card in one of those cities does not mean a restaurant is hiding anything; it means the county system does not apply there. Check the city's own health department instead if you want to see how a restaurant did on its most recent inspection.

The same goes for a few other kinds of food sellers. Grades apply to restaurants, food trucks and many other retail food facilities in the county's jurisdiction, so if you do not see a card where you expect one, look around the entrance or the service window, or ask.

What does a B or C grade really mean?

A B or C does not mean a restaurant is unsafe to eat at; a C is still described by the county as generally acceptable. It means the inspector found more violations on that day. Some lower grades come from structural or maintenance issues rather than food handling. Grades are also a single snapshot: a restaurant can lose points on a busy day and earn them back at the next inspection. Many diners in LA treat an A as the norm and look more closely at anything lower, and that is reasonable, but the details of the inspection matter more than the letter.

How can you see a restaurant's inspection report?

LA County Public Health publishes inspection results online, so you can search for a restaurant and see its recent scores and the violations found. The report tells you far more than the card: whether points came off for food temperatures, handwashing or a broken tile. If something looks wrong in a restaurant, you can report it to LA County Public Health.

What does a grade not tell you?

A letter grade says nothing about how good the food is, how friendly the service is, or whether the place is worth the trip. A spotless kitchen can make a forgettable meal, and some of the city's most loved taco stands and noodle shops hover around the line between A and B. Use the grade for safety and other diners for everything else. On Mosey you can rate the places you ate at and the dishes you ordered, with photos, so the people who follow you know what is worth ordering as well as what is safe.

More guides to read next:

• Koreatown Los Angeles food guide: barbecue, soups and late nights
• San Gabriel Valley Chinese food guide: where and what to eat
• Santa Monica and Venice food guide: where and how to eat by the beach

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