NYC restaurant Grade Pending: what it means and what to post

Grade Pending is one of the most misunderstood cards in New York restaurants. It does not mean the restaurant has no inspection result. It means the restaurant received a B or C after a reinspection and can challenge the cited violations before the grade becomes final.

NYC Health’s grading guide says a restaurant receiving a B or C at reinspection gets both the letter-grade card and a Grade Pending card. The operator may immediately post either card until the hearing.

The window cannot be left blank

Choosing Grade Pending is still a posting decision. The city requires the selected card to be displayed as soon as the inspector provides it.

The required location is specific:

• on a front window, door or outside wall;
• where a person passing the restaurant can easily see it;
• within five feet of the entrance; and
• four to six feet above the ground or floor.

If the establishment has no entrance directly from the street, the Health Department determines the posting location. Each card has a serial number, so a photocopy or a card belonging to another location does not satisfy the rule. The official posting guide includes the full instructions.

What happens after OATH

If the hearing decision changes enough violation points to change the grade, OATH issues a new grade card. Post the new card immediately and destroy both cards the inspector left.

If the hearing does not change the grade, post the original letter-grade card and destroy the Grade Pending card. The same posting obligation applies after a settlement or a missed hearing. Keep the decision with the inspection record so the person managing the window knows which card is current.

What to gather while the case is fresh

Grade Pending buys time to be heard. It does not recreate evidence that was never saved.

Keep the inspection report, every summons, the hearing notice, the two cards’ serial numbers, and any record that existed when the inspector was present. If a thermometer was calibrated, keep the dated calibration record. If a pest company had already serviced the location, keep the report that predates the inspection. If equipment failed, keep service calls, photographs and the repair invoice in sequence.

Write down who was present and what the inspector said while memory is still useful. Keep factual notes. OATH decides the case from the charge, the defense and the evidence, not from how unfair the day felt.

Do not confuse the hearing with the next inspection

The OATH hearing addresses the violations on the summons. The next Health Department visit tests the restaurant’s current conditions. Winning a point at a hearing does not fix the process that produced it, and correcting the kitchen does not automatically dismiss the summons.

Run those as two separate workstreams: preserve the earlier evidence, and prepare the operation for the next unannounced visit.

Open your restaurant’s public record to see which inspection produced the current result and which codes keep returning.