To check a food hygiene rating in the UK, open the official Food Standards Agency ratings service, search the business name or street, town, or postcode, and confirm the exact branch before reading the rating and inspection date. For Scotland, the same search service displays Food Hygiene Information Scheme results rather than a 0-to-5 score.
Ratings come from the responsible local authority, which inspects the premises and explains the record; this independent guide shows you how to read it.
Check the official record in five steps
- Open the FSA food hygiene rating search rather than a search-engine snippet, delivery app or review site.
- Enter the business name or the street, town, or postcode. Use the local-authority and business-type filters when the result list is broad.
- Match the branch address, business type, and local authority. Chains often have several branches nearby.
- Open the result and note the rating or status, rating date, and any available breakdown or authority details.
- If the record is missing or unclear, retry with fewer terms and the first part of the postcode, then contact the local authority shown for that area.
The UK uses two food hygiene systems
The official Food Hygiene Rating Scheme guidance applies to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses the Food Hygiene Information Scheme. Keep a Scottish result in its own words, such as Pass or Improvement Required, rather than turning it into a number.
| Location | Official system | Result shown | What it represents |
|---|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, Northern Ireland | FHRS | 0 to 5 | Food hygiene standards found at the local-authority inspection. |
| Scotland | FHIS | Pass, Improvement Required, or Exempt Premises | The outcome of the local-authority food hygiene inspection under the Scottish scheme. |
| New or newly operated premises | Status before assessment | Awaiting Inspection or the applicable local wording | The authority has yet to issue a rating or outcome for that business operation. |
What the 0-to-5 rating means
| Rating | Official description |
|---|---|
| 5 | Hygiene standards are very good. |
| 4 | Hygiene standards are good. |
| 3 | Hygiene standards are generally satisfactory. |
| 2 | Some improvement is necessary. |
| 1 | Major improvement is necessary. |
| 0 | Urgent improvement is required. |
The rating is a snapshot of standards found at the time of inspection. It covers hygienic food handling, the physical condition and cleanliness of the premises, and how the business manages food safety.
Search by name, postcode, local authority, or map
A food hygiene rating search works best when you start with one strong identifier and then narrow the result. The official form accepts a business name or a street, town, or postcode. It also offers location, map, local-authority, business-type, country, rating, and Scottish hygiene-status filters.
- Exact business name, then a shorter version if punctuation or trading words differ.
- Street, town, or full postcode for an ordinary commercial address.
- First part of the postcode when a home caterer’s private address is not published in full.
- Local-authority area when several businesses have the same or similar names.
- Business type to separate a restaurant from a hotel kitchen, takeaway, retailer, mobile caterer, school, or care setting.
Match the licensed business, not just the storefront name
A delivery-app name, franchise label, or sign above the door may differ from the legal or registered business name. Compare the full address, postcode, business type, and local authority before using a result. At a food hall, market, hotel, hospital, or shared kitchen, more than one food operation may appear at the same address.
A change of operator matters. An older result at the same address may belong to a previous business, while a new operator may appear as awaiting inspection. Attach an old tenant’s rating to the current restaurant only if the official record clearly connects them.
Map or text search: what to do when no result appears
The food hygiene rating map is useful for exploring nearby businesses, but a business can have a record without a map pin. Switch to the text search and try the business name, street, first part of the postcode, or local-authority area. Clear restrictive filters before repeating the search.
If the food hygiene rating checker still returns nothing, the business may be new, registered under another name, outside the chosen filter, associated with a private address, or still unpublished under the current operator. Contact the responsible local authority to find out which.
Read the date and status behind the result
A food hygiene rating lookup is complete only after the identity and date match. Record the business name, address, local authority, rating or Scottish status, rating date, and official result URL. Where the official page provides a breakdown, read it in the authority’s own terms.
The date is essential because the result describes an inspection event on a specific day. The official site and the sticker at the premises can temporarily differ while an appeal is being considered or while a local authority uploads a new rating. If a business appears to display a higher rating than the online record, use the official local-authority contact route to ask for clarification.
What Awaiting Inspection and Exempt mean on the FSA site
Awaiting Inspection means the authority has yet to issue a rating or inspection outcome for that business operation, so record it as a status rather than a zero, pass or fail. Use the separate pending or awaiting inspection guide for ownership changes, new premises, and publication timing.
Exempt is a status of its own: the official schemes use exemption rules for particular low-risk or scheme-specific premises. Check the exact status and authority explanation before drawing a conclusion.
What a UK food hygiene rating covers and leaves out
- It reflects the inspection date, and conditions can change before you visit or order.
- It leaves out food quality, taste, service, allergy suitability and customer experience.
- Each branch of a chain has its own rating.
- A missing result may mean a new, renamed or filtered-out business; the local authority can confirm.
- A screenshot or third-party badge can be out of date, so check the official record.
Related checks
- Food hygiene rating checklist
- Food hygiene rating pending or awaiting inspection
- How to read food inspection reports and violations
- International restaurant inspection sources
Questions people ask
Is there an official UK food hygiene rating checker?
Yes. Use the Food Standards Agency ratings service. It publishes information supplied by participating local authorities and includes Scottish FHIS results as well as FHRS ratings.
Can I search a food hygiene rating by postcode?
Yes. The official search accepts a street, town, or postcode. If a private-address business is missing with the full postcode, try the first part of the postcode and the business name.
Why does a restaurant have no rating?
It may be new, have a new operator, be listed under another business name, have limited address information, be awaiting inspection, or sit outside a filter you selected. Retry the search and contact the responsible local authority if the record is still missing.
Does a rating of 5 prove a restaurant is safe today?
Five means hygiene standards were very good at the rated inspection, which is strong official evidence about that visit. Allergy safety and today’s conditions sit outside the rating.
Sources checked: 28 July 2026 (Food Standards Agency and Food Standards Scotland pages).