NFPA 96 compliance, explained for people who run kitchens
Three different people can ask you to prove your exhaust system was cleaned: the fire marshal, your insurance carrier, and the health inspector. This page covers what the standard says, how often it applies to your kitchen, and what the paperwork has to show. No code section numbers unless you want them.
How often does NFPA 96 say you need it?
NFPA 96 is the national standard for ventilation and fire protection in commercial cooking. Its inspection table sets the interval by cooking type, and every fire authority in our territory treats it as the cleaning schedule.
NFPA 96 inspection and cleaning intervals
| Cooking type | Interval |
|---|---|
| Solid fuel cookingWood-fired ovens, charcoal grills, smokers | Monthly |
| High-volume cooking24-hour kitchens, charbroiling, wok cooking, most fast food | Quarterly |
| Moderate-volume cookingMost sit-down restaurants, hotel kitchens, cafeterias | Semi-annually |
| Low-volume cookingChurches, day camps, seasonal kitchens, senior centers | Annually |
What the fire inspector checks
The inspector starts at the hood. They look for a dated service sticker with the cleaning company's name on it, and they look at the filters and the plenum behind them. If the sticker is current and the metal is clean, they usually move on. If the sticker is missing, expired, or the plenum is caked, they ask for records.
Records means a written cleaning report. NFPA 96 requires the cleaning company to give you one within two weeks of the job, listing what was cleaned, any areas that could not be reached, and where the access panels are. A sticker with no report behind it is what a canopy-only cleaner leaves.
A good inspector also asks about the roof. The exhaust fan and the duct run are where the fire risk actually lives, and a cleaning that never went up the ladder did not clean them. Our photo report includes the fan and the rooftop on every job, so that question answers itself.
Oregon Fire Code, Washington's IFC, and Portland's own rules
Oregon enforces the Oregon Fire Code, the state's version of the International Fire Code. It requires commercial cooking systems to be operated and maintained according to NFPA 96. Every city fire department and rural fire district in Oregon inspects to that standard.
Washington adopts the International Fire Code through WAC 51-54A-0606. Section 606.3 says commercial cooking systems shall be operated, inspected, and maintained in accordance with Chapter 12 of NFPA 96. Same intervals, same report requirement, enforced by city fire departments and county fire marshals.
Portland has its own hood cleaning rules. Portland Fire & Rescue policy FIR-8.08 sets cleaning frequency by cooking type (monthly for solid fuel and wok cooking, every three months for high volume and fast food, every six months for normal volume), requires a service label on the hood that includes the date, the company, and any areas not cleaned, and requires the records to be kept on site for the Fire Marshal. If you run a Portland kitchen, the sticker and the report are not optional.
What the insurance company asks for
Carriers use NFPA 96 as the benchmark. At renewal or during a loss-control inspection they ask for proof of periodic exhaust cleaning. After a kitchen fire, the adjuster asks for the cleaning log, the service tags, and photos.
This is where a canopy-only cleaning hurts most. If the report and photos show the hood was wiped but the duct and fan were not touched, the carrier can argue the operator contributed to the loss. A full-system cleaning with before-and-after photos of the plenum, duct, and fan is the paper trail that protects you.
Our certificate, hood sticker, and photo report are built to satisfy the periodic cleaning requirement carriers put in the policy. Keep the packet with your insurance file, or ask us and we will resend it.
What the health inspector looks at
County environmental health inspects for food safety, not fire code, but a greasy hood, dripping filters, and a grease-streaked wall behind the line are sanitation findings. Inspectors routinely tell operators to get the hood cleaned and come back to check.
One certified vendor, one visit, and one packet covers all three inspectors. That is the practical reason to have the exhaust system done by a company that photographs and documents the work instead of a general cleaner with a sticker roll.
What our certificate, sticker, and photo report show
After every job you get three things. A certificate of service stating the system was cleaned per NFPA-96 and IKECA standards, with the date and our company details. A dated sticker on the hood, which is the first thing any inspector looks for. And a photo report showing the hood, plenum, duct, and rooftop fan before and after, time-stamped on site and checked by the office against the job checklist.
The report lists any section that could not be reached and why, which is what NFPA 96 requires and what makes access panels an honest recommendation rather than an upsell. If your last cleaner's report never mentioned inaccessible areas, either your duct run is unusually simple or nobody looked.
Keep all three. Fire marshal, insurer, and health inspector each want a different piece of it, and the packet answers all of them.
What bare metal means, and why a wipe-down is not it
NFPA 96 says the hood, grease removal devices, fans, ducts, and everything attached to them have to be cleaned to remove combustible contaminants. Bare metal is the industry shorthand for that result: every surface scraped and degreased until the metal is visible, with no grease film left behind.
The tells of a bad hood cleaning are consistent. The crew never asks for roof access, so the fan is never cleaned. No before-and-after photos. Filters go back in immediately to hide the plenum. The fan switch gets left off. There is a mess on the floor in the morning. If any of that sounds like your last cleaning, ask your cleaner for the roof photos and see what happens.
Bare metal, photographed
Compliance questions we get every week
Is hood cleaning required by law in Oregon?
Yes. The Oregon Fire Code requires commercial cooking exhaust systems to be maintained according to NFPA 96, which sets the cleaning interval by cooking type and requires a written cleaning report. Portland adds its own policy with a required service label and on-site records.
Is hood cleaning required by law in Washington?
Yes. Washington's adopted fire code (WAC 51-54A-0606, Section 606.3) requires commercial cooking systems to be operated, inspected, and maintained per Chapter 12 of NFPA 96.
How do I get a hood cleaning certificate for the fire marshal?
Hire a certified hood cleaning company and have the whole system cleaned. We issue a certificate, put a dated sticker on the hood, and send a photo report after every job. That packet is what the fire marshal, your insurer, and the health inspector ask for.
What does the sticker on my hood mean?
It shows the date of the last service and the company that did it. Inspectors check it first. Portland requires it to also list any areas not cleaned. A current sticker with no report and no roof photos behind it is a warning sign, not proof.
Can my own staff clean the hood instead of hiring a company?
Your staff can and should clean the filters and the visible hood surfaces regularly. NFPA 96 requires the full system cleaning, including the duct and fan, to be done by properly trained, qualified, and certified people acceptable to the fire authority. That is the part you hire out.
Does hood cleaning include the exhaust fan?
It should, and with us it always does. The fan is where the grease ends up. If your cleaner never went on the roof, the fan was not cleaned, no matter what the sticker says.
What happens if a restaurant hood is not cleaned?
Grease builds up inside the duct and fan until a flare-up on the line finds it. Cooking equipment is the leading cause of restaurant fires. Short of a fire, an expired sticker can get you cited, a canopy-only report can cost you an insurance claim, and a greasy hood is a health inspection finding.
Who is responsible for hood cleaning, the tenant or the landlord?
Usually the tenant. Most commercial leases assign kitchen exhaust maintenance to the restaurant operator, and landlords enforce it because rooftop grease damages the roof. Check your lease. Either way, the operator is the one the fire marshal cites.
Get the packet your inspector asks for
Certificate, dated hood sticker, and photo report after every job. Tell us about your kitchen.
(800) 973-5573