For NYC restaurant owners

The grade on your window is not final until your hearing.

At the OATH hearing your inspection is graded again, counting only the violations that stand. Before you pay it or fight it, see what is really on your paper.

What did the inspector leave you?

See what is on my report, free See a sample first

Free preview, no card. No subscription: the kit is $69 one time, only if you want it. A phone photo works. Hablamos español. Questions first? Message us on WhatsApp.

NYC sanitary inspection grade card showing an A, the card posted in a restaurant window — The card in your window, as the city prints it.

If this is what you are thinking tonight, you are not alone

After an inspection, owners usually say some version of these four things.

“Everyone walking by will see that card.”

What is true: a Grade Pending card or a B is not the end of the A. The hearing can grade the inspection again.

“I read it three times and I still don’t know what they say I did.”

What is true: each line is a code from the Health Code with points and a fine range. Once it is in plain words, it is a short list.

“There is a date on here. Do I have to go? Do I need a lawyer?”

What is true: that date is the one that matters. You can get ready for it without a law firm, and you should not let it pass.

“Maybe I just pay and forget it. Is it even worth fighting?”

What is true: sometimes paying is the right call. Sometimes one item is worth contesting. You can only tell once you see the numbers.

Where you are

There is one date on that paper

Your hearing date is printed on the summons. At the hearing, your inspection is graded again, counting only the violations that are admitted or sustained. Some violations can be cured. Some can be settled. Some are worth contesting.

That is the whole clock. Nothing on this page adds to it.

If no one shows up, the hearing is decided without you, and a default penalty usually costs more than the original fine.

Already missed it? It is usually not final. Grade A Rescue can ask OATH to reopen your case and represent you at the new hearing.

Initial inspection You are hereNext

0 to 13 points is an A. With 14 or more, no grade is given yet.
Re-inspection You are hereNext

Unannounced. Under 14 points, you get the A.
Summons, and a choice of card You are hereNext

14 or more again: you get a summons and may post the B or C, or Grade Pending, until you receive the hearing decision.
OATH hearing You are hereYour next date

The inspection is graded again on the violations that stand.
The letter that goes up

Decided by the hearing, not by the paper you are holding today.

Why one report can cost you the A

The letter is a points total. A single violation can move you across a line, and a single violation removed at the hearing can move you back.

A0 to 13

B14 to 27

C28 +

Fewer points is better. These are the official NYC grading lines.

14 points

is where the A stops. A few routine items can add up to it.

5 to 28 points

is the range for one evidence of mice violation, depending on what was found.

Usually one or two items

carry most of the points. Those are the ones worth reading closely.

The free preview

Most reports look worse on paper than they are

A list of violations reads like a verdict. It usually is not. Seeing which items carry the points, and which are routine or curable, is usually the moment owners breathe again. This is what you see, free.

Sample Example report, 3 violations Not a real restaurant

04L Critical, city category

Evidence of mice or live mice in the establishment, food or non-food areas.

Health Code 81.23(a)

Points: 5 to 28
Fine: $200 to $350
Cure: Not eligible

06D Critical, city category

Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed, and sanitized after each use.

Health Code 81.27(b)

Points: 5 to 8
Fine: $200 to $300
Cure: Not eligible

10F General

Non-food contact surface or equipment made of unacceptable material, or not kept clean.

Health Code 81.17(e)(1)

Curable on a first violation, which means no fine once it is fixed.

Points: 2 to 5
Fine: $0 to $100
Cure: Eligible, first violation

Example violations. Every value is the real value from the official NYC schedules. Your preview shows your own violations the same way.

See mine the same way, free

Free to look. $69 if you want the full picture.

No subscription and no monthly fee. You pay once, only if you want the kit. You see your violations before you pay anything, and if the preview is all you need, you owe nothing.

Free preview

Sent back to you on WhatsApp, no card.

Every violation on your report, in plain words
Points, fine range and cure for each one
Taken from the official NYC schedules

Start free

Grade A Defense Kit

$69 one time. No subscription.

Reviewed by a Grade A specialist, delivered in your portal in about 5 to 10 minutes.

Which items carry your points, and which can be cured
Your numbers, your dates, and your next step, worked out from your report
Your hearing date and deadlines tracked until the case closes
Help in English or Spanish

Start with the free preview

One violation’s fine range can be more than the kit. If your case should go to a hearing with someone at your side, Grade A Rescue can represent you at OATH as a separate service, quoted on your case.

What we guarantee, and what nobody can

No one can honestly promise how a hearing ends, and we do not. What we guarantee is the work: if a calculation or a citation in your kit is wrong, we rebuild it and the review is free.

Questions owners ask us

Is it worth fighting?

Sometimes, and sometimes not. The kit tells you plainly which items may be worth contesting and which are not. If paying or settling is the sensible move, we will say so.

A B is already in my window. Is it too late?

No. The hearing grades the inspection again on the violations that stand, so the letter can still change.

What if I miss my hearing?

The hearing goes ahead without you and a default decision is entered, usually with a higher penalty. If that already happened, it is not over. You can generally ask OATH for a new hearing once, and Grade A Rescue can file the request to reopen your case and represent you at the new hearing, as a separate service. If your date is still ahead, we track it so it does not come to that.

Do I need a lawyer? Is this legal advice?

Grade A Rescue is a food safety consultancy, not a law firm, and the kit is not legal advice. It is analysis and preparation built on the public NYC Health Code and OATH schedules. Hearing representation, when you want it, is a separate service.

My English is fine for the business, not for these papers.

That is fine. We work in Spanish from the first look to the hearing. Message us on WhatsApp or call (212) 470-9909.

My report is a photo, or handwritten. Will it work?

Yes. A clear, well lit phone photo, a PDF or a scan works. If a line cannot be read with confidence, we ask you to confirm it instead of guessing.

What happens to my documents?

Your report is stored securely and used only for your case. We never sell or publish client documents, and you can ask us at any time to export or delete your file.

See what is really on your report

Send us a photo of your summons or inspection report on WhatsApp. We read it and send you back every violation on it, free, before you pay anything.

Tell us who you are. Two fields below.
WhatsApp opens with the first message already written.
Attach a photo or PDF of your report and press send.

Know what is on your paper before your hearing date

Free to look. $69 one time, no subscription. A person checks every kit, and your dates are watched until the case closes.

See my violations free Ask on WhatsApp

Rather talk? (212) 470-9909, English or Spanish.