Guides / Placards & scores
Reading the sign in the window
Results look different across Canada — colour-coded placards in Ontario, numerical scores elsewhere. Here’s what each one means. New to this? Start with the guide to checking inspections.
- Pass (green placard)
- A green “Pass” placard means the establishment met food-safety requirements at its most recent inspection with no significant outstanding violations. In Ontario’s system (including Toronto DineSafe), green is the highest of three ratings and is posted where customers can see it.
- Conditional Pass (yellow placard)
- A yellow “Conditional Pass” means inspectors found one or more significant infractions that must be corrected, but not serious enough to close the premises. A follow-up inspection is scheduled, and the restaurant can keep operating while it fixes the issues.
- Closed (red placard)
- A red “Closed” notice means the establishment was ordered shut because of a health hazard serious enough to risk the public — such as a pest infestation, no hot water, or critical temperature violations. It cannot reopen until it passes a re-inspection.
- Critical vs. minor violation
- A critical (or significant) violation directly affects food safety — improper holding temperatures, cross-contamination, pest activity. A minor violation is a maintenance or documentation issue that doesn’t pose an immediate health risk. Inspectors weigh critical violations far more heavily.
- Numerical and satisfactory/unsatisfactory systems
- Some provinces and U.S.-style systems use a numerical score or a satisfactory/unsatisfactory rating instead of placards. A score reflects the number and severity of violations at inspection — but systems aren’t comparable across jurisdictions, so compare a restaurant only against others in the same region.
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