For one NYC restaurant, the city’s own lookup is the Health Department’s ABCEats search; for inspection-by-inspection rows, the source is the official DOHMH Restaurant Inspection Results dataset on NYC Open Data. Community-made views on Open Data sit on top of that dataset, so open a view’s About page and follow “View based on” before treating a displayed score as inspection history. The Restaurant Grades view used as the example here is community-created, and its source link leads to the DOHMH dataset. The DOHMH dataset is where you find the establishment, visit date and later action behind a grade. A score repeated on two citation rows is still one recorded inspection score; a later date can describe another initial inspection rather than a reinspection of the earlier record.
How the Restaurant Grades view (gra9-xbjk) relates to the DOHMH dataset
When checked October 13, 2026, the community About page listed 12 columns, while the DOHMH base listed 27. A public member configured the community view; NYC Open Data and DOHMH supply the data, while the selections and presentation are that member’s.
Record the view ID gra9-xbjk and source ID 43nn-pn8j. Follow the actual View based on link, then inspect the source’s field list. This lets another reader retrace which display you used. Similar titles can mislead, and a saved screenshot or exported selection can hide the information you need. The About pages list fields; to learn the community view’s filters and which businesses it includes, open the view itself.
For a straightforward restaurant-grade lookup, search ABCEats directly or use the NYC restaurant grade guide. The data-view method below is useful when a table or shared link raises a more specific question about a visit or its chronology.
Which DOHMH fields to keep when comparing NYC inspections
The current community field list omits CAMIS, INSPECTION DATE, ACTION, INSPECTION TYPE and VIOLATION CODE; the base includes them. CAMIS identifies an establishment, rather than uniquely identifying a visit. When those fields are missing, open the source rather than guessing from a business name.
| Your question | Keep in your notes | Check before concluding |
|---|---|---|
| Which establishment? | Source ID, CAMIS, displayed name and location | Whether the address and permitted establishment match |
| Which visit? | INSPECTION DATE, INSPECTION TYPE and finding details | Whether two rows describe one event or different visits |
| Which action? | ACTION and its associated dated record | Whether a later record changes the chronology |
| Which publication date? | GRADE DATE, RECORD DATE and the About update | Which date actually answers your question |
For example, suppose someone sends a screenshot with a business name, grade and recent update label, then asks when it was inspected. The useful next step is to retain the link and locate the corresponding establishment and dated visit fields in the source. The update label is a different date from the visit date. If you can’t confirm the match, write down what is missing and keep similarly named businesses apart.
Keep the exact displayed fields together. Two rows can share a name, a date, or even an establishment identifier and still be different inspections. For an important discrepancy, compare the dated report or ask its custodian to identify the event.
What 1/1/1900, GRADE DATE and RECORD DATE mean in NYC data
The base defines 1/1/1900 as a new establishment not yet inspected. Treat that value as a placeholder rather than a visit, an opening date or a result, and leave it out of any trend until a genuine dated record appears. An absent score, N (not yet graded) and a CRITICAL FLAG of “Not Applicable” each mean something different, and none equals a score of zero. The examples below use genuine dated records.
GRADE DATE means grade issuance; RECORD DATE means extraction. An About-page update is another date. Put these in separate worksheet cells. A newly extracted row can describe an older visit, and a grade’s issuance date need not answer when the underlying inspection took place.
When examining closure, reinspection or reopening, follow the associated dated event and then look for later records. A single historical ACTION describes that event; present status comes from later records. Keep unresolved chronology explicit, especially if your view lacks the event fields needed to connect the records.
How to count NYC inspections from repeated citation rows
The base represents violation citations: multiple findings repeat inspection fields, while a no-violation visit uses an ACTION row. Official SCORE can reflect adjudication. Count a repeated score once, and treat citation rows from one visit as one inspection. First decide what your count represents, then check that the records support that unit. Retain the official value and extraction date rather than recalculating a grade from a partial display.
The following seven source rows form three date/type/action groups, rather than seven separate visits. They were checked October 13, 2026, using inspection dates from January 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. Every row in this example records the action that violations were cited.
| CAMIS | Inspection date | Recorded type | Citation rows | Codes | Official score / grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30075445 | February 27, 2026 | Cycle Inspection / Initial Inspection | 2 | 06B, 10F | 7 / A |
| 30191841 | February 20, 2025 | Cycle Inspection / Re-inspection | 2 | 06C, 06D | 10 / A |
| 30191841 | July 30, 2026 | Cycle Inspection / Initial Inspection | 3 | 06C, 06D, 10F | 13 / A |
For CAMIS 30075445, both citation rows repeat score 7. The inspection score is 7, not 14. Grade A coexists with findings: 06B is marked Critical and 10F Not Critical. Read the cited finding and its flag separately from the inspection’s total score.
For CAMIS 30191841, the next dated group is labeled Initial Inspection, not Re-inspection. The later rows confirm that codes 06C and 06D were recorded again, alongside 10F. Whether the earlier conditions were corrected and later recurred, or continued, would take the inspection reports to answer, since these fields carry no unique inspection ID or item-level correction time. Use date, type and action as grouping clues.
Open the same limited official requests for CAMIS 30075445 and CAMIS 30191841, then compare INSPECTION TYPE and ACTION before calling the next date a reinspection. Their RECORD DATE is October 12, 2026. The requests return 2 and 5 rows; later source updates may change the results.
Both facilities were picked by low CAMIS number to show how the fields work, so they illustrate the data rather than typical NYC outcomes. For present operating status, check the most recent DOHMH record.
The described scope is restaurants and college cafeterias active on RECORD DATE, reaching up to three years before each establishment’s most recent inspection. Missing or illogical values are possible. For older or inactive records, a blank result means you need to ask DOHMH directly. For identifiers and agency-file follow-up, the NYC complaint, Ombuds and violation-record guide separates a 311 request, DOHMH establishment and OATH summons. It also explains how to link those systems by identifier.
NYC Open Data About pages and DOHMH rows for CAMIS 30075445 and 30191841 checked October 13, 2026; ABCEats and the view’s source link checked October 20, 2026.
For citywide counts of current A, B and C grades by borough and cuisine, see NYC restaurant grades by borough and cuisine.