How to get a 5-star food hygiene rating: a practical UK plan

To get a 5-star food hygiene rating, you need to score well on all three things the officer judges: how you handle food, the condition of your premises, and your food safety management (records, training and allergens). In practice, that means safe temperatures every day, a spotless and well-maintained kitchen, and a completed food safety system such as Safer Food, Better Business with up-to-date records. Paperwork and allergen control are where most good kitchens lose their 5.

This guide explains how the score works, gives a 30-day plan and a checklist, and shows how to get re-rated if you're stuck on a 3 or 4.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your council's food safety team carries out inspections and decides ratings.

What is the range of food hygiene ratings?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) gives a rating from 0 to 5:

In Scotland, the Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) shows Pass or Improvement Required. The advice in this guide still gets you a Pass.

How the food hygiene rating is worked out

The officer scores three elements. Lower scores are better.

For a 5, your total must be 15 or less, and no single element can score more than 5. So you need a 0 or 5 in every element. One weak area, even with a clean kitchen, caps your rating. Our EHO inspection guide has the full score table and the appeal rules. The bands and caps come from the FSA's FHRS Brand Standard.

Element 1: Hygienic food handling

This is what the officer sees you and your staff do.

Temperature control

• Fridges set to 5°C or below. Chilled food must be 8°C or below by law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (recommended in Scotland).
• Hot food held at 63°C or above.
• Cook to a safe core temperature (for example 75°C for 30 seconds, or 70°C for 2 minutes) and probe to prove it.
• Chilled food out of the fridge for no more than 4 hours, then thrown away.
• Check and record fridge temperatures at least twice a day on a fridge temperature log.

Cross-contamination

• Raw meat stored below ready-to-eat food, or in a separate fridge.
• Separate boards, knives and utensils for raw and ready-to-eat food, ideally colour-coded.
• A clean-as-you-go habit, with a two-stage clean (clean, then disinfect) on surfaces that touch ready-to-eat food.
• If you vacuum-pack or use a slicer for raw and cooked food, expect close questions. Separate equipment is the safe answer.

Personal hygiene GOV.UK says staff with diarrhoea or vomiting must not return to work until they've had no symptoms for 48 hours. Staff should wear clean protective clothing, tie hair back and wear no jewellery except a plain wedding band. Hand washing must happen before handling food, after the toilet, after raw meat, after bins and after breaks.

Date labels and stock rotation

• Nothing past its use-by date, ever.
• Opened and prepared food labelled with what it is and the date.
• First in, first out.

Element 2: Structure and cleaning

Clean

• Surfaces, floors, walls, ceilings, equipment and the backs of kit (officers pull things out).
• Extraction canopy and filters free of grease.
• A written cleaning schedule, signed off.

Well maintained

• No cracked tiles, flaking paint, damaged seals or rusty shelving. Get them fixed and keep the receipts.
• Lighting and ventilation that work.

Facilities

• A dedicated handwash basin with hot and cold running water, soap and paper towels, not blocked by stock.
• Separate sinks for food and equipment if your process needs them.

Pest control

• No droppings, gnawing or insects. Gaps proofed, fly screens fitted, bins lidded.
• A pest control contract, or your own documented checks, with reports kept.

Element 3: Confidence in management (where 5s are won or lost)

This element has the biggest scores (up to 30), so it moves your rating most. The officer asks: will this business keep standards up when I'm not here?

1. A food safety management system that matches reality. Use Safer Food, Better Business (England and Wales), CookSafe (Scotland), Safe Catering (Northern Ireland) or your own HACCP plan. Fill in every section that applies, and update it when your menu changes.
2. Records kept daily. Opening and closing checks, fridge temperatures, cooking and cooling checks, cleaning, deliveries. Blank weeks are a red flag.
3. Training you can prove. GOV.UK says food handlers don't need a certificate, but you must show staff have the right skills and training for their role, and keep training records. Most owners use Level 2 for handlers and Level 3 for supervisors. See which food hygiene certificate you need.
4. Allergen management. Accurate allergen information for every dish, written down, kept up to date and known by staff. A current allergen matrix covering the 14 allergens, a clear sign telling customers to ask, and a process for allergy orders.
5. Supplier traceability. Names and addresses of suppliers, and delivery records.
6. A good track record. Acting on advice from last time shows you're in control.

30-day plan to a 5-star rating

Week 1: find the gaps

• Read your last inspection letter. Make a list of every point raised.
• Walk the kitchen with the checklist below, as if you were the officer.
• Get and print your free food safety system pack (SFBB from the FSA, CookSafe or Safe Catering).

Week 2: fix the building

• Book repairs: seals, tiles, shelving, extraction, lighting.
• Deep clean, including behind and under equipment.
• Sort pest proofing and get a pest control visit.
• Clear the handwash basin and stock it.

Week 3: fix the systems

• Complete every relevant section of your food safety pack.
• Start daily records: opening and closing checks, fridge log, cooking checks.
• Update your allergen matrix for every dish and check your menus match it.
• Put up clear food safety posters for handwashing, allergens and cleaning.

Week 4: train and test

• Train every food handler, and record it.
• Run a mock inspection: ask staff "How do you know this is cooked?" and "What do you do if someone says they have a nut allergy?"
• Review four weeks of records. If they're complete and true, you're ready.

Food hygiene inspection checklist

Handling: fridges ≤5°C and logged · hot hold ≥63°C · probe working and cleaned · raw below ready-to-eat · separate boards and knives · food covered, labelled and in date · staff wash hands correctly Premises: clean surfaces, floors, walls and kit · good repair · handwash basin with hot water, soap and towels · no pest signs · bins lidded Management: food safety pack complete · daily diary filled in · training records · allergen matrix current · supplier list · last inspection actions done

There's a fuller version in our EHO inspection checklist.

How often are food hygiene inspections?

It depends on your risk. Higher-risk businesses may be inspected every six months. Lower-risk ones may wait two years or longer. A new business is usually inspected soon after it registers. Inspections are normally unannounced, so daily habits matter more than a last-minute clean.

Stuck on a 3 or 4? How to get re-rated

You don't have to wait for your next routine inspection.

1. Fix everything listed in your inspection letter.
2. Collect evidence: photos, receipts for repairs, new records, training certificates.
3. Request a re-rating visit from your council. In England some councils offer one free re-rating between inspections and others charge. All councils in Wales and Northern Ireland charge. Fees vary by council; the councils we checked in October 2026 charged £234 to £342.
4. Expect an unannounced visit. The officer looks at the whole business again, so your rating can go up, stay the same or go down.

If you think your rating is wrong, you can appeal within 21 days, and you can add a right to reply that's published with your rating. Full details are in our EHO inspection guide.

Do you have to display your food hygiene rating?

Food hygiene rating stickers come from your council after the inspection, and the FSA says they must not come from anywhere else. Ask your council if yours is lost or damaged. The FSA also lets businesses show their rating online, using its official rating images, website banners or a widget that updates by itself. Show only your current rating and don't alter the images.

Show your rating where customers order

A 5 is a selling point. Put it on your shopfront, your social media and the page where customers order. Customers ordering online can't see your window sticker.

Menuthere gives you your own ordering page for collection, delivery and table orders, with 0% commission. Every plan, Free included, lets you add up to five banner images across the top of your page, so you can upload the FSA's official banner for your current rating and customers see it before they order. Your QR and online menus come from one menu. Tag each dish with the 14 allergens it contains, plus calories and a halal mark if you like (every plan, Free included), and customers see them when they open the dish. Back them up with an allergen matrix.

Turn your 5-star kitchen into more direct orders. See our for QR menus at the table.

Create your free ordering pagebook a demo (opens in a new tab)digital menu