Maricopa County Environmental Services Department inspects every Phoenix restaurant under MCEHC §1 and §3, scoring critical and non-critical violations. Arizona uses a numerical scoring and violation-disclosure model, not a posted A-B-C letter grade card.
Under an intergovernmental agreement, the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department (MCESD) inspects all retail food establishments inside Phoenix at least annually, with risk-based facilities receiving two or three visits per year. Inspectors apply the Maricopa County Environmental Health Code chapters 1 and 3, which adopt the FDA Food Code. Each inspection produces a numerical score plus a list of priority, priority-foundation, and core violations. Reports are published on the MCESD online inspection portal so the public can search any establishment. Phoenix has not adopted a separate letter-grade posting ordinance; instead, transparency comes through the searchable database. Critical-violation failures trigger a follow-up inspection within ten days.
Operating without a current MCESD permit, refusing inspection, or failing to correct priority violations within ten days can trigger permit suspension, embargo of food, and misdemeanor citations under Maricopa County Environmental Health Code Chapter 1.
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