Food hygiene ratings for takeaways: display rules, appeals and re-rating

This guide summarises the Food Standards Agency's guidance for businesses (updated 30 June 2026) and Food Standards Scotland's scheme pages, both checked on 21 October 2026. For your own premises, the officer named in your rating letter is the person to ask.

The scale and what the officer looks at

The FSA scale runs from 5 to 0:

The officer scores three things:

1. How hygienically food is handled: preparation, cooking, reheating, cooling and storage.
2. The physical condition of the premises: cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, pest control and facilities.
3. How you manage food safety: your processes, training and systems, which tell the officer how confident they can be that standards will be kept up.

To get a 5, the FSA says you have to do well in all three. For takeaways, the third one catches people out. You can have a spotless kitchen and still be marked down if there are no written procedures, no records and no evidence of training. The FSA's Safer Food Better Business pack is the usual way small caterers cover this.

You're told your rating in writing, either at the inspection or within 14 days.

How often you're inspected depends on risk. The FSA lists the type of food, the customers, the processes and the standards found last time. The gap ranges from six months for the highest-risk businesses to two years for lower-risk ones. If you're new, our guide to starting a takeaway business covers registration and the first inspection.

When your rating goes online

The council uploads ratings to the FSA's food hygiene ratings website:

• A rating of 5 is published as soon as it's uploaded.
• Ratings from 0 to 4 are published three to five weeks after the inspection. This leaves time for an appeal.
• Early publication: in England and Wales, you can ask the council in writing to publish before the appeal period ends, for example once you've decided not to appeal. This isn't available in Northern Ireland.
• Home-based businesses: only the first part of the postcode is published, unless you give written permission for the full address.

If your business name or address is wrong on the ratings website, ask the council that rated you to correct it. Customers search for you by name, so an outdated trading name makes you harder to find.

Display rules: England, Wales and Northern Ireland are different

The Welsh takeaway statement

This one is specific to takeaways. The FSA says that if you're in Wales and supply takeaway food directly to consumers, and you have a menu or leaflet that shows food for sale, prices and a way to order without visiting, you must print a bilingual statement on it. The statement directs customers to the food hygiene ratings website and reminds them they have a legal right to ask for your rating when they order.

Takeaways in Wales should check every printed item that does this, including door-drop leaflets, menus in the bag and flyers with a QR code. Our Cardiff page has local context.

Northern Ireland

Display at each customer entrance is a legal requirement, and the sticker must be readable before customers walk in. See our Belfast page.

Online display

The FSA encourages businesses to show their rating on their website and social media pages as well as in the window. If you have a good rating, put it on your restaurant website near the menu. It reassures a customer who has never been inside the shop. It also keeps your online profile consistent with the work that helps you rank higher on Google in your local area.

If you think the rating is wrong: appeal

Before appealing, the FSA suggests speaking to the officer who inspected you, to understand how the rating was worked out. Then:

• Deadline: 21 days from being told your rating, including weekends and public holidays.
• How: in England and Northern Ireland, you can use a form, a letter or an email. In Wales, you must use the standard form.
• Who decides: not the officer who gave the rating.
• Result: within 21 days of the council receiving your appeal. While it's pending, the website shows "awaiting publication".
• If you still disagree: use the council's complaints procedure, then the Local Government Ombudsman (England and Wales) or the Public Services Ombudsman (Northern Ireland). Judicial review is the last resort. The rating is still published in the meantime.

If the rating is fair but things have changed: right to reply

The right to reply lets you explain on the ratings website what you've improved, or whether there were unusual circumstances on the day. There's no deadline, and the council may edit out offensive or inaccurate remarks. Your comment stays up until your next rating.

Keep it factual: what was wrong, what you changed and when. A defensive reply tends to read worse than the rating.

Fixed the problems? Ask for a re-rating inspection

If your rating is below 5, you can ask for a re-rating inspection once you've accepted the rating and made every improvement the officer listed.

1. Put it in writing to the inspecting officer, by form, letter or email. Say what you've done about each issue and include evidence such as receipts or photographs. Without evidence, the council can refuse the request.
2. Fees: some councils in England charge to cover costs. In Wales and Northern Ireland, all councils charge. Where there's a fee, send the payment with the request.
3. How many times: in England, if your council doesn't charge, you get one re-rating between planned inspections. If it does charge, there's no limit. In Wales and Northern Ireland, there's no limit, but any appeal must be resolved first and your current sticker must be on display.
4. When the visit happens: in England, where there's no fee, a re-rating usually doesn't happen in the first three months. Ask during those three months and expect a visit within six months of the original inspection. Ask later, or where the council charges, and expect one within three months. In Wales and Northern Ireland, the visit is within three months of your written request. You won't be told the date.
5. The result comes within 14 days. The officer looks at everything, not just the fixes, so the rating can go up, down or stay the same.

Scotland: Pass or Improvement Required

Scotland doesn't use the 0 to 5 scale. Food Standards Scotland's Food Hygiene Information Scheme (FHIS) gives a business a certificate or sticker showing Pass, meaning it broadly met the legal requirements, or Improvement Required. New businesses show "Awaiting inspection".

The safeguards differ. You have 14 days to appeal an Improvement Required result, and you're allowed one follow-up re-visit between regular inspections once you've made the improvements. There's also a right to reply. See our Glasgow and Edinburgh pages for local context.

Where Chefzi fits

Chefzi is commission-free online ordering for UK restaurants and takeaways. It doesn't inspect kitchens, give ratings or talk to councils for you. What it gives you is your own ordering site, where you control what customers see before they order, including your hygiene rating if you choose to show it. You also control the allergen information on each dish. Our guide to allergen information for online orders covers that side.

Keep the next order

Early Black Friday & Cyber Monday Deal: new sign-ups get 3 months free, with no setup fee. The deal ends at 23:59 on 1 December 2026.

After the free period, Chefzi is £19 a month for cash or no-card ordering, or £29 a month with online card payments through Stripe, per location, excluding VAT. Standard Stripe fees apply. There's no setup fee and no commission. Delivery apps charge commission of on average up to 25% per order; you can change that starting figure in the commission calculator. See Chefzi pricing.

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Frequently asked questions

Do takeaways have to display their food hygiene rating?

In Wales and Northern Ireland, yes: the rating must be displayed at or near each customer entrance. In England, display is voluntary, though the FSA encourages it. In Wales, takeaways with a menu or leaflet that lets people order without visiting must also print a bilingual statement pointing to the ratings website.

How long do I have to appeal a food hygiene rating?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you must appeal in writing within 21 days of being told your rating, including weekends and public holidays. Speak to the inspecting officer first. The appeal is decided by someone other than the officer who gave the rating, and you are told the result within 21 days.

Can I ask for a new inspection after making improvements?

Yes, if your rating is below 5 and you have made the improvements the officer asked for. You request a re-rating inspection in writing with evidence such as receipts or photographs. In Wales and Northern Ireland all councils charge for it; in England some do. The new rating can go up, down or stay the same.

When does a new rating appear online?

A rating of 5 is published as soon as the council uploads it. Ratings from 0 to 4 are published three to five weeks after the inspection, to leave time for an appeal. In England and Wales you can ask in writing for early publication.

Does Scotland use the 0 to 5 scale?

No. Scotland uses the Food Hygiene Information Scheme run by Food Standards Scotland. A business gets 'Pass' or 'Improvement Required', and Scottish businesses have 14 days to appeal an Improvement Required result.

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