San Antonio, TX Public Health Rules: Restaurant Grade Cards (2026)

San Antonio's food code, enforced by the city's health department operating as the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, requires every permitted food establishment to post two things in a conspicuous, customer-visible spot: its current operating permit and the latest city health inspection report (Sec. 13-26). Permits are issued annually under Sec. 13-25, running from October 1 through the following September 30, and the fee ranges from $310 to $928 a year depending on gross annual sales under Sec. 13-27. Beyond the mandatory report posting, Sec.

13-26 lets an establishment voluntarily display a grade placard, but only the exact placard the department distributes for that inspection period, and only if it matches the score the establishment actually received; posting any other placard, or one that misstates the inspection score, is itself a violation of the section. The rule sits inside Chapter 13's broader permitting scheme: Sec. 13-21 makes operating a food establishment without a valid, unsuspended permit unlawful, and Sec. 13-24 lets the director condition issuance on the premises passing a sanitary review.

Because the grading system is opt-in rather than a mandatory letter grade, the binding obligation for every establishment is the inspection report itself, not a specific placard; a restaurant that never requests a placard must still keep the report posted at all times. Chapter 13's general penalty clause, Sec. 13-11, backs the whole article: a municipal court finding a violation was committed intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly can fine the operator up to $2,000 per offense, with each day of continued noncompliance counted as a separate offense.