A Grade Pending sign in a New York City restaurant window means the last graded inspection is still open. In most cases a reinspection scored 14 points or more, which is the B or C range, and the restaurant gets an opportunity to be heard at the OATH Health Tribunal; until then it may post either the letter card or the Grade Pending card (NYC Health restaurant grading FAQ). In the city’s open data pulled on October 24, 2026, 1,256 restaurants, about 1 in 21 of those with a grade on record, showed Grade Pending as their latest grade.
This page explains the two Grade Pending codes, then uses our own count of the city’s DOHMH restaurant inspection results dataset to show how long the status usually lasts and what score sits behind it. For the letter grades themselves, start with our guide to checking NYC restaurant grades.
What Grade Pending means on an NYC inspection record
The city’s dataset uses two codes for it (43nn-pn8j data dictionary):
- Z, Grade Pending. Most current Z records are reinspections that scored 14 or more; the rest are reopening inspections after a closure. The restaurant receives both a letter card and a Grade Pending card and chooses which to post until its OATH hearing opportunity.
- P, Grade Pending issued on re-opening. This follows an initial inspection that ended in a closure. The FAQ says an inspection at a restaurant seeking to reopen is scored, and no letter grade comes from it.
The same data dictionary says scores are updated based on adjudication results. So a hearing can change the score on the record, and the letter that replaces the Z follows that final score. Grade bands are the usual ones: 0 to 13 points is A, 14 to 27 is B, 28 or more is C (How We Score and Grade).
How many NYC restaurants show Grade Pending right now
We took each active restaurant’s most recent inspection that carries any grade code (26,339 restaurants, data through October 21, 2026) and counted those whose latest code is Z or P. Queens has the highest share; Staten Island the lowest.
| Borough | Restaurants with a grade record | Latest grade is Grade Pending | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queens | 5,984 | 361 | 6.0% |
| Brooklyn | 6,728 | 324 | 4.8% |
| Manhattan | 10,330 | 448 | 4.3% |
| Bronx | 2,351 | 95 | 4.0% |
| Staten Island | 919 | 28 | 3.0% |
| Citywide | 26,339 | 1,256 | 4.8% |
The median restaurant on that list got its Grade Pending inspection 93 days before the data date. 644 had been pending for more than 90 days, 286 for more than six months and 84 for more than a year. For the full spread of A, B and C grades by borough and cuisine, see what 25,254 current NYC letter grades show.
What score sits behind a Grade Pending sign
The score on the inspection tells you which way the grade is heading. Of the 1,256 restaurants currently pending:
- 567 had a reinspection score of 14 to 27, the B range.
- 351 scored 28 or more, the C range.
- 338 got their pending code at a reopening inspection after a closure. Every one of those scored under 14.
Older cases show how the code usually resolves. Among 2,585 B- or C-range reinspections from 12 to 24 months before the data date, 2,527 now carry the letter that matches their final score band, 55 still show Z, and 3 carry a different letter. A sign that has been up for a while is most likely waiting for the same B or C the score already points to, unless the hearing lowers the score. For how New York’s re-inspection timing compares with Chicago, King County and LA County, see what happens if a restaurant fails a health inspection.
If the inspection list shows a score but the window shows Grade Pending, enter the score below to see the band and what the city does next.
Restaurant Inspection Check tool · rules checked October 21–23, 2026
Inspection score reader
Pick the program that inspected the restaurant, then enter what the report or door sign shows. The reader explains it on that agency's own scale and tells you what usually happens next.
How long Grade Pending lasts in NYC inspection data
To estimate timing, we grouped every B- or C-range reinspection in the dataset by its age on October 21, 2026, and counted how many still show Z instead of a letter.
| Days since the reinspection | B- or C-range reinspections | Still Grade Pending | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–30 | 251 | 242 | 96% |
| 31–60 | 207 | 132 | 64% |
| 61–90 | 203 | 116 | 57% |
| 91–120 | 234 | 103 | 44% |
| 121–180 | 381 | 151 | 40% |
| 181–270 | 416 | 80 | 19% |
| 271–365 | 455 | 38 | 8% |
| Over 365 | 3,111 | 56 | 1.8% |
Roughly half of these cases get a final letter within about three to four months, and about 1 in 5 is still pending after six months. Because this is a snapshot by age, restaurants that closed for good drop out of the dataset and are missing from the older rows.
How to check a Grade Pending restaurant on ABC Eats
- Search the restaurant by name or address on the city’s ABC Eats restaurant inspection search.
- Open the inspection history and find the most recent graded visit. Note its date, its type (reinspection or reopening) and its score.
- Read the score against the bands: 14 to 27 points leans toward a B, 28 or more toward a C.
- If the visit is a reopening inspection, look one step back for the closure and the violations behind it. Our analysis of 583 NYC health department closures shows the most common closure violations and how fast restaurants reopen.
- Check the record again after a few months. When the case is decided, the Z on that inspection is replaced by a letter.
Hearings themselves are handled by the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings; our page on NYC complaints, the restaurant ombuds and OATH records covers where those records sit. For how grading works in other U.S. cities, see how to check a restaurant’s health score.
How we counted
All figures are our calculation from the DOHMH restaurant inspection results dataset (43nn-pn8j), downloaded October 24, 2026, with inspections through October 21, 2026. One row was kept per restaurant, inspection date, type and score. The dataset covers restaurants in active status and up to three years of their inspections, and the city notes it contains some data-entry errors. A restaurant’s status can change any day, so check ABC Eats for the current record before relying on a number here.
NYC Health grading FAQ, How We Score and Grade and the 43nn-pn8j data dictionary checked October 24, 2026.