NYC restaurant letter grades: what A, B, C and Grade Pending mean

The letter card in a New York City restaurant window comes from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and it reflects the restaurant's most recent sanitary inspection. An A means the inspection found 0 to 13 violation points, a B means 14 to 27, and a C means 28 or more, so a lower score is better. A "Grade Pending" card means the final grade is not settled yet, usually because the restaurant is contesting it.

How do NYC restaurant inspections work?

Health Department inspectors visit restaurants unannounced and check food handling, food temperatures, personal hygiene, the maintenance of the facility and equipment, and vermin control. Each violation they find carries a number of points, and the more serious the risk to the public, the more points it is worth. At the end of the visit the inspector adds up the points, and that total is the restaurant's inspection score.

The letter grading program began on July 27, 2010, after more than a year of planning with the restaurant industry and food safety experts.

What do the A, B and C scores mean?

Grade	Inspection score	What it tells you
A	0 to 13 points	Few or minor violations at the last graded inspection
B	14 to 27 points	More violations, or some more serious ones
C	28 points or more	Many violations, or serious ones
Grade Pending	Not final	The restaurant has a hearing coming, or is newly inspected

Remember that the score counts problems, so it works the opposite way to a test at school: zero is the best possible result.

Why does a restaurant get two chances at an A?

Each inspection cycle gives a restaurant two chances to earn an A. If the first inspection scores in the A range, the restaurant gets an A card straight away. If it does not, that first inspection is scored but not graded, and an inspector returns unannounced, typically within about a month, for a reinspection. The reinspection is the one that is graded.

How often a restaurant is inspected depends on how it did. Places that earn an A are inspected less often, about once a year, while places with a B or a C are visited more frequently. That design rewards consistent kitchens and keeps a closer eye on the ones with problems.

What does Grade Pending mean?

A restaurant that disagrees with its grade can challenge it at a hearing before an administrative tribunal. While it waits, it may post a "Grade Pending" card instead of the letter. You will also see Grade Pending at a restaurant that has not yet completed its inspection cycle. It does not tell you the restaurant failed; it tells you the outcome is not final. If you want to know more, look up the inspection results.

Where must the grade card be posted?

The rules are specific. The card has to be on a front window, door or outside wall where people walking by can easily see it, within five feet of the entrance and between four and six feet off the ground. That is why you can usually spot the card at eye level before you even open the door. Restaurants that fail to post the card can be fined.

How do you look up a restaurant's inspection results?

The Health Department publishes inspection results online, including the date of each inspection, the score and the violations cited. You can also call 311, the city's information line, for information or a copy of an inspection report. Looking up the results tells you far more than the letter alone: two places with the same B can have very different reasons for it, and a recent reinspection can change the picture quickly. Results update as new inspections happen, so check before you go if it matters to you.

Should you avoid a restaurant with a B?

Not necessarily. A grade is a snapshot of one inspection, and a B can come from a handful of fixable issues on the day, such as equipment that needs repair. Plenty of New Yorkers eat happily at B-graded places they know well. A C is a stronger signal, and if a grade worries you, reading the specific violations is the sensible next step. If you have a food allergy, the letter is not a guide to how a kitchen handles allergens; tell your server and ask directly.

Do food trucks and carts get letter grades?

The letter grading program covers restaurants and similar food service establishments. Street vendors, markets and some other food businesses are regulated differently, so you will not always see a letter card. That is not a sign of a problem, it reflects different rules for different kinds of business.

How to use grades when choosing where to eat

The grade is one piece of information. It tells you how a kitchen did at its last inspection, not whether the food is good or the service is friendly. For that, most people lean on what other diners say about the dishes they actually ordered. On Mosey you can rate the places you eat and the dishes you order, with photos, keep lists of places to try and follow friends whose taste you trust, which pairs well with a quick look at the card in the window.

More guides to read next:

• Manhattan Chinatown food guide: dim sum, dumplings and bakeries
• Best restaurants near me in New York City: a borough guide (2026)
• Bronx food guide: Arthur Avenue, Little Italy and beyond

More in the US food guides and the ranked lists of places.