Start with North Dakota HHS’s inspection search, using a short part of the establishment name, then narrow by jurisdiction, city, county, or inspection date. The state says the online route provides the two most recent inspection reports for listed facility types, including restaurants. If you need an older report, a closure action, or a location handled by a local health unit, first identify the correct custodian on the Areas of Licensing Jurisdiction page.
That routing step matters. North Dakota HHS Food and Lodging inspects establishments in much of the state, while eight local health units license and inspect establishments under memorandums of understanding. An empty state search is therefore not proof that a restaurant has no inspection history.
Direct browser loads of the state search and report-request pages timed out when checked on September 27, 2026. The instructions below follow the state’s published guidance. If the same problem occurs, use the local-unit links or HHS phone and email below.
Choose the regulator before treating a result as missing
North Dakota’s report-request page says two recent reports are online for a defined list of facilities licensed through Food and Lodging. That list includes restaurants, bars and taverns, bakeries, retail food stores, mobile food units, school food establishments, child-care food establishments, lodging, and several other licensed categories.
The public search also states that it includes inspection records from five local units when the appropriate jurisdiction is selected:
- Central Valley Health District
- Western Plains Public Health
- Grand Forks Public Health
- Upper Missouri District Health Unit
- Southwestern District Health Unit
The jurisdiction page names eight MOU units in total. The search page does not make the same inclusion statement for Bismarck Burleigh Public Health, Fargo Cass Public Health, or First District Health Unit. For a restaurant in one of those areas, follow the local unit link from the state jurisdiction page rather than reading a blank state result as “no inspections.”
On the jurisdiction page, choose the Restaurants map for a restaurant; the page has separate maps for other facility types. The state food-code guide says the licensing agency conducts the inspection. A city name alone may not identify that agency.
Use a short name, then narrow the state search
The state’s published search instructions allow a full or partial establishment name. The form also identifies filters for jurisdiction, street, city, state, region, county, ZIP code, and inspection date range, plus an optional address-radius search.
A practical sequence is:
- Enter a distinctive part of the restaurant name. The state advises limiting the search words to improve the chance of finding the correct facility.
- Add the jurisdiction or city only if the first list is too broad.
- Match the address and license context before opening a document.
- Use the document control in the facility row to open the available inspection PDF, then keep the date and license number with your notes.
Do not assume two displayed reports equal the restaurant’s full history. They are the online window the state describes. A change in business name, a different local custodian, or an older date can all require another route.
North Dakota counts high-priority findings; it does not publish a percentage grade here
North Dakota HHS links its Food Code Guide for Food Handlers from the Food and Beverage Establishments page. The guide is effective January 1, 2024, and explains several fields that should not be collapsed into one score:
| Report field | How the state guide defines it |
|---|---|
| IN / OUT | The item was observed in or out of compliance; OUT is a violation |
| N/O / N/A | The item was not observed during that visit, or did not apply |
| COS | The violation was corrected on site during the inspection |
| R | The violation repeated from the prior most recent routine inspection |
| Risk Category 1–4 | The operation’s inherent risk level, used to help set routine inspection frequency |
| Risk Factor/Intervention count | The number of high-priority items marked OUT; lower is better |
The guide says the Risk Factor/Intervention count is the field most comparable to a score, but Good Retail Practice violations are not included in that total. It is not a percentage, and the reviewed state pages do not provide an A–F restaurant grade. Risk Category is also not an inspection result: it reflects factors such as the menu, preparation methods, volume, and whether the operation serves a vulnerable population.
For the finding itself, read the observation, corrective action, priority level, COS or R flag, and any Correct by Date. Priority, Priority Foundation, and Core describe different kinds of requirements. Our food inspection violations guide gives a general method for keeping those fields separate, while the North Dakota report controls the meaning in this state.
A correction date is not the same as a reopening record
The HHS guide says inspectors record violations and corrections, and a follow-up inspection may be needed when a correction is not made on site. As our reinspection follow-up guide explains, the correction and the return visit need separate dated evidence. A COS mark establishes correction during that visit. A future Correct by Date sets an obligation. Neither field, standing alone, is a closure order or permission to reopen.
The state pages reviewed here did not establish a separate, complete online closure-and-reopening register. The two-report window can also leave an older enforcement event outside the public view. If your question is whether a restaurant closed and later received approval to resume operating, ask the correct regulator for the specific dated records: the inspection, closure or license action, follow-up or reinspection, and any reopening or reinstatement decision.
Ask the correct office for the missing period
Use the local health-unit link when the jurisdiction page assigns the establishment to an MOU unit. If North Dakota HHS Food and Lodging is the custodian, use its contact page, call 701-328-1291, or email foodandlodging@nd.gov. Give the establishment name, physical address, license number if known, and the date range. Identify the record type instead of asking the agency to certify whether the restaurant is safe.
For example: “Please provide the routine inspection, follow-up, closure action, and reopening decision for this licensed restaurant from January through June 2024.” The agency determines whether those records exist and whether they can be released. Until you receive the missing document, describe only the facility identity, regulator, report date, published findings, and follow-up that you can actually see. Two recent reports—or no online match—do not establish the complete history or current conditions.
For a restaurant inside Bismarck, the city runs its own license and inspection search; the Bismarck inspection report guide explains how to read a PASS result with priority findings.
Official sources checked September 27, 2026.