Kitchen hood / exhaust cleaning checklist (NFPA 96–style)

Who this is for

If you run a restaurant, cafe, school kitchen, hotel kitchen, or any food-service establishment with a Type I hood, you already live with kitchen grease in two places: the exhaust path (hood → filters → plenum → ducts → rooftop fan) and the drain path (sinks/floor drains → grease trap / interceptor → sewer).

This page is a practical hood / exhaust cleaning checklist for U.S. FSE managers — the fire-code side that sits next to FOG service. Restaurants already buying trap pumping often still need NFPA 96–style hood cleaning on a separate calendar, for a different inspector. It is not legal advice. Your local fire code, fire marshal, or AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) wins. Edition years and table numbers in NFPA 96 / the International Fire Code (IFC) shift; always confirm what your city adopted.

Why it sits next to FOG: the same cooking grease that loads your interceptor also loads the exhaust. FOG programs are usually wastewater / pretreatment. Hood cleaning is fire prevention. Passing one inspection does not auto-satisfy the other.

What NFPA 96 / IFC usually mean

NFPA 96 — Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations. It covers design, installation, operation, inspection, and maintenance of commercial cooking ventilation and related fire protection (hoods, grease removal, ducts, fans, extinguishing equipment, and more). Free read access is available through NFPA LiNK with an account.
IFC commercial cooking hood rules (commonly §609 in older IFC editions; section numbers vary) — many U.S. cities adopt the IFC (with amendments) and point operators to an inspection frequency table plus a duty to clean when grease has accumulated.

Key distinction (do not mix these up):

Hood / exhaust inspection + cleaning — fire code / NFPA 96 track.
Grease-trap / interceptor pumping — wastewater / FOG / pretreatment track (see /how-often and /choose-a-hauler).
Hood fire-suppression system service — separate contractor cadence (often about every six months under local fire-code language). North Carolina’s Office of State Fire Marshal notes that the IFC hood inspection table is about checking hoods/filters/ducts for grease — not the suppression-system service schedule (NC OSFM hood inspections FAQ).

NFPA research on structure fires in eating and drinking establishments (2010–2014 averages) found cooking equipment involved in about 61% of those fires — one reason fire marshals and insurers care about exhaust maintenance (NFPA research PDF).

Inspection frequency table (cited)

Many AHJs publish the same band as IFC Table 609.3.3.1 (and older NFPA 96 inspection tables such as Table 11.4). Treat this as a common U.S. pattern, not your personal permit:

Type of cooking operations	Typical inspection interval
Solid fuel-burning cooking appliances	1 month
High-volume (e.g. 24-hour cooking, charbroiling, wok)	3 months
All other / moderate-volume operations	6 months
Low-volume (e.g. places of worship, seasonal businesses, senior centers)	12 months

Cited municipal / AHJ summaries using this pattern:

City of Lawrence, KS — Commercial Kitchens (2015 IFC Table 609.3.3.1; clean if grease accumulation found; references ANSI/IKECA C10)
Village of New Paltz, NY — Kitchen Hood Cleaning Requirements (PDF) (NFPA 96-2017 Table 11.4 summary)
Arlington County, VA — Commercial Kitchen Hood Systems (VSFPC Table 609.3.3.1)
Tacoma Fire Department — Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning bulletin (PDF)
Portland Fire & Rescue — FIR-8.08 (local Certificate of Fitness; solid fuel / wok monthly; high-volume every 3 months; normal volumes every 6 months)

Callout: This table is an inspection cadence in IFC-style code. Cleaning is required when inspection finds grease contamination (or when local rules say clean on that interval). In solid-fuel and high-volume kitchens, inspection and cleaning often happen on the same visit because buildup is fast. Your AHJ can require more frequent service.

Inspection vs cleaning trigger

Inspection — a properly trained, qualified person acceptable to the AHJ checks the exhaust path for grease buildup on the schedule above (wording varies by edition; New Paltz and Lawrence both stress AHJ-acceptable qualification).
Cleaning — when contaminated portions are found, those portions are cleaned by a properly trained, qualified, and (where required) certified person acceptable to the AHJ. New Paltz’s summary also requires cleaning before surfaces become heavily contaminated with grease or oily sludge.
Depth gauge language (public NFPA first-revision materials): cleaning is triggered when measured grease depth reaches about 0.078 in (2000 μm) on surfaces other than fan housings, and about 0.125 in (3175 μm) in fan housings (NFPA FR PDF). Use this as a “why they stick a comb on the metal” explanation — not as a DIY substitute for your local standard edition.
Entire system — Tacoma’s bulletin expects documentation that the entire exhaust was cleaned: behind filters, plenum, horizontal and vertical ducts to the exterior, and the exhaust fan — not a canopy wipe alone.

Checklist — ask these before you hire

Use this as a yes/no list. Prefer contractors who answer with paperwork, not vibes.

Are you acceptable to our fire marshal / AHJ?
Ask what credential or license they work under locally (examples: Portland Certificate of Fitness; Tacoma Fire Protection License; IKECA / other certifications some AHJs recognize). Patterns vary — verify with your fire prevention office.
Will you inspect / clean the full path (filters, hood, plenum, ducts, fan)?
Filters-only is a common red flag against municipal “entire system” expectations.
Is this an inspection visit, a cleaning visit, or both?
Confirm you understand whether today’s job clears grease or only measures it.
Will I get a written report and an on-hood sticker / label?
New Paltz expects a certificate (company, person, date) on premises and a sticker with the next inspection/cleaning date. Tacoma expects written documentation plus a cleaning sticker. Portland expects a label with date, company, certification numbers, and areas not cleaned.
How long should we keep records?
Arlington requires inspection and cleaning records for a minimum of 3 years and available to the fire code official on request. Your city may differ — ask.
Do you understand suppression service is separate?
Wet/dry chemical hood systems are typically on their own ~6-month inspection/test track (see Arlington / NC OSFM notes). Hood cleaning does not replace that.
What insurance and spill / roof safety practices do you carry?
Request a certificate of insurance; ask who is on the hook if a hose or rooftop job goes wrong.
Can you put scope in writing before we compare quotes?
Full-system vs filters-only changes the job. Do not invent a price here — get their written scope and quote.
Will you note defects (access panels, fan issues, heavy buildup zones)?
Useful for your next fire inspection and for deciding whether to shorten the interval.
Can we align your visits with our FOG pump schedule?
Same grease system, different vendors — coordinating calendars reduces missed compliance windows. Soft pointer: /choose-a-hauler.

What to file after every service

Keep a folder (paper or digital) with:

Service report / certificate (date, company, technician, what was inspected vs cleaned)
Hood sticker / label photo (including next-due date and any “areas not cleaned” notes)
Any defect or access-panel notes and follow-ups
Separate file for suppression semi-annual tickets (do not mix with exhaust cleaning)
Your FOG manifests stay in the wastewater file (see /choose-a-hauler)

If a fire inspector asks and you cannot produce records quickly, that is often a finding by itself — independent of how the canopy looks today.

Red flags

“We only wipe the filters / canopy” when your AHJ expects plenum, ducts, and fan
No sticker, no written report, or a vague receipt with no date / no company identity
Claims that hood cleaning also “covers” the Ansul / wet-chem suppression inspection
No local license / certificate when your city requires one
Pressure to skip documentation “because you’re on a contract”
Cash-only with no paperwork trail for the fire marshal

How this relates to grease traps (short)

Grease does not pick a team. Coordinating hood cleaning (fire) with trap pumping (FOG) is operational hygiene: fewer surprise backups, fewer last-minute vendor calls, and cleaner stories for two different inspectors.

Trap interval / 25% rule → how-often (LIVE)
Pumping cost bands (sourced; verify locally) → /pumping-cost (LIVE)
Hauler checklist → choose-a-hauler (LIVE)

Charlotte County FL FOG fee note (FOG adjacency)

Charlotte County, FL begins a $10 monthly FOG program fee on October 1, 2026 for establishments with grease control equipment (supports the county FOG program / inspections). That is a wastewater/FOG program fee, not a hood-cleaning price and not a hauler registration fee. (Charlotte County FOG Program)

Sources

Affiliate disclosure (stub)

FOG Desk may earn a referral fee when you hire certain listed haulers or related services through links on this site. We only list partners that meet the checklist above. Recommendations are not endorsements by any city, utility, or fire department. Always verify licenses with your local pretreatment program and fire marshal as applicable.

Next steps on this site

choose-a-hauler — LIVE FOG hauler checklist
how-often — LIVE 25% rule + pump cadences
/pumping-cost — sourced pumping cost bands