What a food hygiene rating means and how the 0 to 5 score works
A food hygiene rating scores businesses from 0 to 5 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Learn what each score means and how inspectors set it.
What a food hygiene rating means and how the score works
A food hygiene rating is the 0 to 5 score a local authority food safety officer gives a food business in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Under the Food Standards Agency's Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS), 5 means very good standards and 0 means urgent improvement is necessary (FSA, updated 30 June 2026).
The rating is a snapshot of hygiene on the day of inspection. It says nothing about food quality, service or comfort. The business must comply with food hygiene law at all times, whatever its rating (FSA).
The range of food hygiene ratings
The FSA uses these descriptors (FSA guidance for businesses):
- 5: hygiene standards are very good
- 4: good
- 3: generally satisfactory
- 2: some improvement is necessary
- 1: major improvement is necessary
- 0: urgent improvement is necessary
People often search for a "5 star" rating. The official scale uses numbers, and 5 is the top. It means standards are very good and fully comply with the law. The FHRS Brand Standard (para 4.3) says any business should be able to get a 5, because it only needs basic compliance.
Manufacturers, packers and wholesalers that don't supply consumers directly are out of scope (Brand Standard, Section 2), except in Wales, where the scheme also covers business-to-business sellers (FSA).
Some low-risk businesses, such as newsagents selling pre-wrapped goods, are inspected but not rated (FSA guidance for businesses). A business that hasn't been rated yet shows "awaiting inspection" (Brand Standard, Section 10).
How the FHRS scores a business
The officer scores three elements in penalty points, so a higher score is worse (FSA guidance for businesses; Brand Standard Section 10):
- Hygiene (how food is prepared, cooked, cooled and stored): 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25
- Structure (cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation, pest control): 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25
- Confidence in management (processes, training, systems): 0, 5, 10, 20 or 30
The total sets the band. But the worst single element also caps the rating. If one score goes over the limit for a band, the rating drops until it doesn't (Brand Standard, Table 3 and paras 4.4 to 4.5):
| Total score | No single element above | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 15 | 5 | 5 |
| 20 | 10 | 4 |
| 25 to 30 | 10 | 3 |
| 35 to 40 | 15 | 2 |
| 45 to 50 | 20 | 1 |
| Over 50 | n/a | 0 |
Scores of 5, 5 and 5 (total 15) give a 5. Scores of 0, 5 and 10 have the same total of 15 but give a 4. And 5, 5 and 20 (total 30) give a 1. The total puts it in the 3 band, but 20 is over that band's cap of 10 and over the 2 band's cap of 15, so it drops to a 1 (Brand Standard, Table 4).
The element scores are published with the rating for inspections since April 2016 in England and Northern Ireland. In Wales, this applies to inspections since November 2014 (FSA).
What a food hygiene rating of 0 or 1 means
A 0 or 1 means the business must make urgent or major improvements. The officer can use enforcement as well as advice, and sets the deadline (FSA guidance for businesses).
A 0 doesn't close a business by itself. Closure requires separate enforcement. In England, an officer can serve a hygiene emergency prohibition notice where there is an imminent risk to health under regulation 8 of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013.
Ratings of 0 to 4 are published 3 to 5 weeks after inspection, to leave time for an appeal. You can appeal in writing within 21 days of being notified of your rating. Weekends and public holidays count. You can also post a right to reply, or ask for a re-rating visit once you've fixed things. Every council in Wales and Northern Ireland charges for re-rating, and some in England do (FSA guidance for businesses).
Display rules differ across the UK
Display is a legal duty in Wales and Northern Ireland, at or near each customer entrance. In England it's voluntary (FSA guidance for businesses). The fixed penalty for not displaying is £200 in Wales under the Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Act 2013 and £200 in Northern Ireland under the 2016 Order. The FSA's Future of Food Regulation paper lists mandatory in-store display in England as part of its plans, but there's no law yet.
Scotland runs a separate scheme, the Food Hygiene Information Scheme, with Pass or Improvement Required results instead of 0 to 5. Ratings from both schemes are on ratings.food.gov.uk and in a free FSA open data API, though the element scores are only in FHRS data.
The RegAffairs AI answer page covers FHRS scoring and what low ratings mean for compliance.