A Kitsap County food inspection search produces three different kinds of information: a score for one dated event, a public placard based on recent routine inspections, and a permit classification based on the food process. Start with the dated report. Then compare it with the placard and enforcement history without treating those separate records as one grade.
The Kitsap Public Health District’s Food Inspection Reports page links the official map. Search by establishment name or address, use the city filter if needed, and select the matching icon. The district says it posts a report each time it inspects an establishment.
Start with the dated inspection row
The current map also provides a city filter and switches for Best, Great, Okay, Needs Improvement, and We are new. Those switches filter placards, not individual event Scores. An establishment popup can show Name, Address, City, Zip Code, and Type, with separate Inspection Reports and Establishment Permit links. Match the address and type, then choose Inspection Reports.
Official indexed histories can show the inspection date, a Score field, establishment, address, city, event description, and a View Report action. Event descriptions can include Routine, Followup, Probation, Pre-op, or an attempted inspection. No search query was submitted, and neither the report nor permit link was opened during this check; the history fields came from indexed official results.
Match the address before combining events. A change of owner, permit, or location can break the sequence even when the public-facing name looks familiar. Then record these fields for the event you need:
- inspection date and event type;
- displayed Score, including an N/A or blank state;
- report link;
- violation descriptions and points shown in the report;
- corrective-action language, including any CDI notation; and
- the next follow-up, probation, closure, or reopening event.
The portal does not publish a universal history floor. An N/A score on a pre-opening event or a blank score on an attempted inspection is a distinct event state. Read the description rather than turning either state into a failed or clean inspection.
The site’s food inspection report guide can help keep the date, inspection type, finding, correction, and later verification in separate fields.
Keep the event score, placard, and permit class separate
| Record | What it answers | What it does not answer |
|---|---|---|
| Dated event Score | How that inspection was displayed in Kitsap’s public history | The current placard or permit class |
| Best, Great, Okay, or Needs to Improve placard | The district’s category based on qualifying recent routine inspections, or probation | The result of every event in the history |
| Low-Risk, High-Risk, or Add-On permit | How the district classifies the operation’s food process for fees, frequency, and program priority | A consumer grade or current safety status |
Use the Score exactly as displayed. The district’s inspection-process guide describes 100% as a good score, while the current page says a report’s total score is based on the number and types of violations. The public history field is labeled Score without a percent sign, and the reviewed sources do not publish its arithmetic. Do not add a percent sign, subtract points from 100, or substitute the enforcement policy’s raw thresholds.
This distinction matters when the latest row is a follow-up or probation inspection. That event can have its own Score, while the placard still follows the separate averaging or probation rules.
Read the placard as an average, with one probation exception
The district’s Food Safety Rating Signage policy defines the public categories:
- Best: a 100% average;
- Great: at least 93.7% and below 100%;
- Okay: below 93.7%;
- Needs to Improve: the establishment is on probation under the enforcement policy; and
- New: the establishment is waiting for the routine inspections needed for a regular sign.
The policy averages the two most recent routine inspections for Low-Risk permits, four for Medium- and High-Risk permits, and two for Add-On permits. It also allows the district to change the number of routine inspections included.
That 2025 signage policy still contains Medium-Risk terminology. The separate 2026 permit policy now uses Low-Risk, High-Risk, and Add-On. Do not invent a conversion for an older Medium-Risk permit. Use the classification and sign that the district actually issued.
Temporary food establishments, donated-food-distribution organizations, and commissary kitchens holding only an Approved Kitchen permit are excluded from the signage policy. Their lack of a placard is not evidence that no inspection occurred.
Use the current permit class only for process and frequency
The current Risk-Based Food Service Establishment Permit Classification policy took effect January 1, 2026. It classifies permanent establishments by their food processes:
- Low-Risk covers limited processes such as cold-held preparation or heating commercially prepared, fully cooked food for immediate service;
- High-Risk includes processes such as hot holding, cooking raw animal foods, or cooling time/temperature-control food; and
- Add-On covers specified additional operations, such as an approved mobile or catering operation tied to a permitted restaurant, or a special process requiring approval.
These categories help set permit fees, inspection frequency, and food-safety priorities. They are not Best, Great, or Okay ratings. Kitsap explicitly includes permanent restaurants, grocery stores, and food trucks in its inspection-sign program. For a wholesale, manufacturing, or cottage-food operation, confirm the regulator through Washington’s food-safety contact routing before interpreting an empty local map result.
Follow the finding through correction, probation, and reopening
The district’s Enforcement of Critical Violations policy labels critical violations Red High Risk Factors. In each report, preserve the corrective action and any Corrected During Inspection (CDI) notation. Some findings use a later correction schedule, so do not assume on-site correction.
During probation, inspections occur at least once every 30 days. Two consecutive probation inspections without recurrence of the critical findings that caused probation end that status. The policy also lists multiple closure grounds and gives staff discretion in some corrected, non-probation cases.
A Needs to Improve placard means probation, not closure. For an actual closure, use the dated report’s reopening criteria and preserve the later agency record documenting the decision to resume operations.
The site’s closure and permit-suspension guide can help separate the inspection, closure decision, correction record, reinspection, and authorization to reopen.
Example: a later 100 does not replace the earlier report
Suppose a history shows a routine inspection below 100, a probation event, and a later follow-up scored 100. Open each report. Record the original findings, probation basis, and what the later follow-up checked.
Then read the placard separately. It may reflect qualifying routine inspections or probation. If the history includes closure, find the dated reopening criteria and the later agency decision.
For an older or missing report, use the district’s Public Records page. Identify the establishment, address, date range, event type, and the specific report or action record. The page does not promise a universal retention window. A dated inspection is not a guarantee of current food safety.
Sources were checked September 27, 2026.