The Hamilton County Health Department inspects 1,700-plus food businesses at least twice a year, scored out of 100. How to look up any Chattanooga score.

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Facts come from the Hamilton County Health Department’s Food Protection Services and Environmental Health pages, and the Tennessee inspection search. Inspection scores are public records with legal weight; we report them as the agency recorded them.

Restaurants in Chattanooga and the rest of Hamilton County are inspected by the Hamilton County Health Department’s Environmental Health division. Inspectors make unannounced visits at least twice a year to each of the county’s more than 1,700 food establishments, and every inspection is scored out of 100. Look up any restaurant in the Tennessee inspection database.

Who to call

  • Restaurant complaints and food safety questions: Hamilton County Health Department, Environmental Health, 423-209-8110
  • Suspected food poisoning: see a doctor, then file a foodborne illness report
  • Health Department main campus: 921 E. Third St., Chattanooga, TN 37403
  • Opening a food business: apply for a food service permit

How to look up a score

  1. Open the Tennessee inspection search, which the county health department links as its “Inspection Reports.”
  2. Type the restaurant’s name, and add “Chattanooga” to narrow the results.
  3. Open an inspection to see its date, type (routine or follow-up), score and every violation the inspector recorded, with notes.

How the scores work

  • 0 to 100 points. An inspection starts at 100 and the inspector deducts points for each violation on a standard 59-item form approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  • Bigger deductions for bigger risks. A “core item” costs 1 or 2 points. A “priority” or “priority foundation” item, the kind most closely tied to foodborne illness, costs 2 to 5.
  • Five risk factors get the most attention: food from an unapproved source, holding and cooling temperatures, cooking temperatures, cross-contamination and unclean equipment, and employee health and hygiene.
  • Ten days to fix. A restaurant must correct a priority violation as soon as possible and within 10 days. Failure to comply can lead the department to stop the business from operating.
  • One visit only. A score shows what the inspector saw that day. It is not a rating of the food and not a ranking against other restaurants.

What else the department inspects

Environmental Health also permits and inspects public swimming pools, hotels, bed and breakfasts, tattoo and piercing studios, schools, day care centers and organized camps in Hamilton County, investigates foodborne illness and runs the county’s rabies control program. It offers a food safety class for food service workers.

Our method

When Chattanooga Journal reports inspection results, we:

  • give the score exactly as the department recorded it, with the date and the type of inspection;
  • link the department’s own report for every result we mention;
  • describe violations in the inspector’s words, without adding to them;
  • include a follow-up score when one exists, and the business’s response when it gives one;
  • never call a business “dirty,” “unsafe” or “failing” on our own judgment.

Owners who believe a score is wrong should contact the Health Department first; we update our pages when the department’s record changes.

What this means for you

  • Before you try somewhere new, read the last two inspections, not just the latest score.
  • If you get sick after eating out, report it so the department can investigate.

Related guides: new businesses in Chattanooga, farmers markets and who to call at City Hall.

Frequently asked questions

How do I look up a restaurant inspection score in Chattanooga?

Search the restaurant’s name in the Tennessee inspection database at inspections.myhealthdepartment.com/tennessee, which the Hamilton County Health Department links as its inspection reports.

How often are Chattanooga restaurants inspected?

The Hamilton County Health Department makes unannounced inspections at least twice a year at each of the more than 1,700 food establishments in the county.

What does a restaurant inspection score mean?

Scores run from 0 to 100. Each violation takes off points: 1 or 2 for a core item and 2 to 5 for a priority or priority foundation item. A score describes the day of that visit only.

How do I report food poisoning in Hamilton County?

Use the Health Department’s foodborne illness report form or call Environmental Health at 423-209-8110.