Health Inspection Score Calculator
Calculate weighted health inspection scores from critical, major, and minor violations.
About this calculator
Restaurant and food-service health inspections in the US commonly follow a point-deduction model modeled on the FDA Food Code's item classification: inspectors check a set list of items and score deductions by severity rather than treating every violation the same. This calculator applies a representative version of that weighting — 5 points off for each critical violation (an item posing immediate health risk, like improper cooking temperatures or active pest activity), 3 points for each major violation (a priority foundation item, like a missing handwashing sign or inadequate labeling), 1 point for each minor violation (a general sanitation item), and an additional 2-point penalty for each violation that was already cited on the prior inspection and hasn't been corrected — capped so a Repeat Violations count can never exceed the total violations actually recorded above, since a repeat violation must also be one of those critical/major/minor violations, not a separate tally. Deductions subtract from a starting score of 100, floored at zero, and the result maps to a letter grade using common thresholds — 90 and above is an A, 80-89 a B, 70-79 a C, and below 70 an F. Closure Risk flags when three or more critical violations are present or the score drops below 70, and Re-Inspection Required flags any critical violation at all or a score under 80, both mirroring how many real jurisdictions decide whether a follow-up visit is mandatory.
Compliance Rate — the share of inspected items with no violation at all — is floored at 0% rather than going negative, which only matters if Total Violations is entered inconsistently higher than Total Items Inspected. Est. Correction Cost's $500/$200/$50-per-violation figures are a rough planning estimate for staff time and simple fixes (retraining, minor repairs, re-labeling), not a sourced industry figure — actual costs vary enormously depending on whether a violation needs equipment replacement, structural repair, or an outside contractor. Exact point values, closure thresholds, and grading scales vary by state and local health department, so treat this as a representative model for understanding how weighted scoring works rather than an exact replica of your specific jurisdiction's published inspection rubric.
Inputs
Results
Inspection Score
86
Grade
B
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the number of critical violations (5 pts each), major violations (3 pts each), and minor violations (1 pt each).
- Set the number of repeat violations and total items inspected.
- The calculator shows the inspection score (0–100), grade letter, compliance rate, total deductions, closure risk, re-inspection requirement, and estimated correction cost.
- Address critical violations immediately; schedule corrective actions for major and minor violations before the next scheduled inspection.
How the result changes with Major Violations
| Major Violations | Inspection Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 89 | B |
| 1.5 | 87.5 | B |
| 3 | 83 | B |
| 5 | 77 | C |
What each input means
- Critical Violations
- Priority items posing immediate health risk (5 pts each).
- Major Violations
- Priority foundation items (3 pts each).
- Minor Violations
- Core items - general sanitation (1 pt each).
- Repeat Violations
- Violations repeated from previous inspection (2 pts additional each). Must also be reflected in the Critical/Major/Minor counts above -- capped at Total Violations if entered higher.
- Total Items Inspected
- Total number of items on the inspection checklist.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters5 parametersCritical Violations = 1, Major Violations = 2, Minor Violations = 3, Repeat Violations = 0, Total Items Inspected = 42 = 5 input(s) provided
- Calculate Total DeductionsTotal Deductions = Critical×5 + Major×3 + Minor×1 + min(Repeat, Total Violations)×25 + 6 + 3 + 0 = 14 pts = 14 pts
- Calculate Inspection ScoreInspection Score = max(0, 100 − Total Deductions)max(0, 100 − 14) = 86 = 86
- Calculate GradeGrade = A (≥90) / B (≥80) / C (≥70) / F (<70)Inspection Score 86 → B = B
- Calculate Compliance RateCompliance Rate = max(0, (Total Items − Total Violations) ÷ Total Items × 100)max(0, (42 − 6) ÷ 42 × 100) = 85.71% = 85.71%
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do critical violations cost more points than major or minor ones?
Critical violations represent conditions with a direct, immediate risk of foodborne illness — things like food held at unsafe temperatures, cross-contamination, or an active pest infestation — so health departments weight them far more heavily than a paperwork or general-cleanliness issue that poses little direct illness risk on its own. This calculator's 5-point critical deduction versus 1-point minor deduction reflects that same severity-based logic used across most real jurisdictions' scoring systems, even though the exact point values differ by state.
Does a Repeat Violation need to also be counted in its severity category above?
Yes. Repeat Violations isn't an independent tally — it's a flag on violations you've already entered as Critical, Major, or Minor above, meaning they were also cited (and still uncorrected) on the prior inspection. If you enter more repeat violations than the total of Critical + Major + Minor, this calculator caps the repeat penalty at that total rather than penalizing violations that were never recorded, since Compliance Rate and Est. Correction Cost are driven entirely by the severity counts, not by Repeat Violations directly.
Can Closure Risk show 'Yes' even when my overall score is still in the B or C range?
Yes. Closure Risk triggers on either of two independent conditions — three or more critical violations present, or a score below 70 — so a facility with several critical violations that happen to be offset by very few major or minor violations can still show a passing-looking numeric score while tripping the critical-violation-count trigger on its own. This models how real health departments often treat a cluster of serious violations as grounds for closure regardless of the overall numeric score, since critical violations carry direct illness risk that a decent overall average doesn't offset.
How is Compliance Rate different from the Inspection Score?
Compliance Rate is the share of all inspected items — set by Total Items Inspected — that had no violation at all, calculated as (total items minus total violations) divided by total items, expressed as a percentage, and floored at 0% rather than reading negative if Total Violations is ever entered inconsistently higher than Total Items Inspected. Inspection Score instead reflects the severity-weighted point deductions described above, so a facility can have a high compliance rate (most items passed) but still take a significant score hit if the few items it failed happen to be critical violations, since those cost far more points each than a minor item would.
What does Est. Correction Cost actually represent?
A rough planning estimate, not a sourced or audited industry figure — $500 per critical violation, $200 per major, and $50 per minor, meant to cover typical staff time and simple fixes like retraining, minor repairs, or re-labeling. Real correction costs vary enormously depending on what the violation actually requires: a broken cooler or a structural repair can cost far more than these flat per-violation figures suggest, so treat this output as a starting budget conversation, not a quote.
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