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Passing Your Inspection

After Your EHO Inspection: Understanding Your Report

How to Read Your EHO Inspection Report and What to Do Next

After the inspector leaves, you will receive a written report detailing their findings, the scores for each of the three assessment areas, and your resulting Food Hygiene Rating. This report is not just a score card; it is a roadmap for improvement. Understanding how to read it, what your options are if you disagree, and how to prioritise the required actions can mean the difference between a quick recovery and months of operating under a low rating that customers can see online.

Key takeaways

Your inspection report details findings under three assessment areas with scores that map to your FHRS rating.
Legal requirements in the report must be addressed; failure to do so can result in enforcement action.
You can submit a right to reply (appears online), appeal within 21 days, or request reinspection after 3 months.
Document every improvement you make in response to the report to demonstrate sustained compliance at reinspection.

Reading Your Inspection Report

Your inspection report will list findings under each of the three assessment areas: hygienic food handling, structural compliance, and confidence in management. Each finding will typically be categorised as a legal requirement (something you must do), a recommendation (something you should do), or an observation. Legal requirements must be addressed; failure to do so can result in formal enforcement action on follow-up. The report will show your score for each area and the total, along with the corresponding FHRS rating. Pay particular attention to the Confidence in Management section, as this carries the highest points and is often where targeted improvement yields the biggest rating improvement. Many reports also include a "what you must do" summary and a "what you should do" summary. The "must do" items are your priority. Some local authorities send a letter first with the rating, followed by a detailed report; others combine them. If you do not receive a detailed report within 14 days, contact your local authority and request one.

Your Right to Reply, Appeal, and Request Reinspection

Under the FHRS, you have three formal options if you are unhappy with your rating. First, a "right to reply" lets you add a statement that appears alongside your rating on the FSA website. This is useful for explaining the steps you have taken since the inspection but does not change the rating itself. Second, you can appeal the rating if you believe it was unfair or inaccurate, but this must be done within 21 days (14 days in Wales) of receiving your rating notification. Appeals are reviewed by a senior officer who was not involved in the original inspection. Third, you can request a reinspection once you have made the improvements identified in the report. Most authorities require at least 3 months to have passed since the original inspection. A reinspection is a full reassessment, not just a check of the flagged issues, so ensure all three areas are strong. Some authorities charge a fee (typically around 150 to 200 pounds). Make sure you have genuine, sustained improvements to show, not just a one-off deep clean.

Prioritising and Acting on Findings

Not all findings carry equal weight. Legal requirements must be addressed immediately. Recommendations should be addressed promptly. Observations are advisory but addressing them demonstrates the proactive attitude that scores well under Confidence in Management. Start with any finding that directly affects food safety: temperature control issues, cross-contamination risks, and allergen management gaps. Then address structural issues that the report identifies as legal requirements. Finally, work through recommendations and build them into your ongoing systems. Document everything you do in response to the report: photographs of repairs, updated procedures, new training records, and corrected monitoring systems. When the reinspection happens, this evidence of systematic response to previous findings is exactly what builds confidence in management. Keep a copy of the inspection report accessible and review progress against it monthly until all items are resolved.
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Managing Your Online Rating

Your Food Hygiene Rating appears on the FSA food hygiene ratings website (ratings.food.gov.uk) and is picked up by platforms such as JustEat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats, Google Maps, and TripAdvisor. In Wales, display of the rating sticker is mandatory. In England and Northern Ireland, it is voluntary but strongly encouraged, and many delivery platforms now require a minimum rating. A rating below 3 can directly impact your revenue through reduced delivery platform visibility and customer reluctance. Once your rating is published online, the only way to change it is through reinspection or a successful appeal. The right to reply adds context but does not change the number. Plan your reinspection carefully: ensure all improvements are embedded and sustained, not just freshly implemented. An inspector arriving for a reinspection who sees that improvements were made last week is less likely to score well on Confidence in Management than one who sees 3 months of consistent records.

What to do next

Create an action plan from your inspection report within 48 hours

List every finding, categorise it as legal requirement, recommendation, or observation, assign an owner and deadline, and review progress weekly.

Photograph all repairs and improvements as you make them

Date-stamped photographs provide evidence of when improvements were made, supporting your Confidence in Management score at reinspection.

Set a reinspection target date and work backwards

If your rating is below 5, decide when you want to request reinspection and ensure all improvements have been in place for at least 4 weeks before that date.

Common mistakes to avoid

Mistake
Ignoring the report and hoping the rating will improve at the next routine inspection
Instead
Routine reinspections can take 6-18 months depending on your risk category. Request a reinspection proactively once you have made and sustained improvements.
Mistake
Making improvements only in the week before a requested reinspection
Instead
Inspectors assess sustained compliance, not one-off efforts. Build at least 4-8 weeks of consistent records before your reinspection.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take for my rating to appear online?

Most local authorities upload ratings to the FSA website within 28 days of the inspection. Some are faster. Third-party platforms like JustEat and Google Maps pull data from the FSA feed, so there may be an additional delay of a few days to a few weeks before the rating updates on those platforms.

Can I request reinspection for a specific area that let me down?

No. A reinspection is a complete reassessment of all three areas. You cannot request a partial reinspection. This means you need to ensure all areas are strong, not just the one that caused your low score.

What if I disagree with a specific finding in the report?

Contact the inspecting officer first to discuss the finding. If you still disagree, you can appeal the rating within 21 days (14 days in Wales). Provide specific evidence to support your position. The appeal is reviewed by a senior officer who was not involved in the original inspection.

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