Florida, not Duval County, inspects Jacksonville restaurants. Of 1,719 first-visit inspections from July 1 to Oct. 8, 990 needed no further action, state records show.
Last checked Oct. 9, 2026. Figures come from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s food service inspection file for District 5, downloaded Oct. 9, 2026, through the state’s public records page. The file covers inspections from July 1 to Oct. 8, 2026. We refresh it monthly.
In Florida, restaurants are inspected by the state, not by Duval County or the City of Jacksonville. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants licenses and inspects every public food service business. Florida gives no numeric scores or letter grades; each inspection lists violations and ends with an outcome.
Who to call
- Division of Hotels and Restaurants: 850-487-1395
- Look up a restaurant: MyFloridaLicense.com license search
- File a complaint: MyFloridaLicense.com
- Foodborne illness: the Florida Department of Health in Duval County, duval.floridahealth.gov
Jacksonville since July 1
From July 1 to Oct. 8, 2026, state inspectors made 1,719 first-visit inspections at 1,644 food service businesses with a Jacksonville address. Most were routine (1,399); 174 followed a complaint and 146 were licensing inspections for new or changed businesses. The count uses the address the state lists, so it leaves out Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Baldwin.
| Outcome of the first visit | Inspections | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection completed, no further action | 990 | 58% |
| Administrative complaint recommended | 410 | 24% |
| Warning issued (a follow-up visit is set) | 271 | 16% |
| Emergency order recommended (closure until fixed) | 47 | 3% |
| Administrative determination recommended | 1 | under 1% |
567 of the 1,719 inspections found no high-priority violations. The middle inspection found six violations of all kinds. Across all of Duval County in the same period there were 1,879 first-visit inspections, and 1,070 of them ended with no further action.
Florida’s file lists outcomes, not the reasons a business was or was not closed, and a recommended action is not a final finding. Many businesses fix problems on the spot or by the follow-up visit.
How to read an inspection
According to the division’s inspections page:
- High priority violations are those that could contribute directly to foodborne illness or injury. The state’s list includes holding food at the wrong temperature, bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food and signs of rodents or insects.
- Intermediate violations could lead to those risks if not fixed.
- Basic violations are, in the state’s words, “considered best practices to implement.”
Each restaurant gets one to four unannounced inspections a year, depending on its risk: the food it serves, how it prepares it and its record. Complaints can bring extra visits.
The outcomes:
- No further action: the inspection is complete.
- Warning issued: violations must be corrected by a set date, and the inspector returns.
- Administrative complaint recommended: high-priority violations, or violations not corrected after an earlier visit, need administrative action to ensure compliance.
- Emergency order recommended: the inspector recommended closing the business until violations are corrected. A callback visit shows whether it complied.
How to look up a restaurant
- Go to the state’s license search.
- Search by business name, or by city and ZIP code.
- Open the license and choose the inspection to see each violation the inspector wrote.
To see every inspection in the region, download the District 5 file, which also covers Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns and Suwannee counties. It opens in any spreadsheet program.
Our method
We counted rows in the state’s District 5 file where the county is Duval, the class is food and the listed city is Jacksonville, and kept only first visits so follow-ups are not double counted. Shares are rounded to the nearest whole percent. We do not rank or name restaurants on this page; individual results are in the state’s records.
What this means for you
- A warning or complaint is a step in the process, not a verdict.
- Look up a specific restaurant before you go if it matters to you.
- Report a problem to the state, which handles complaints countywide.
Related: new businesses in Jacksonville and who to call at City Hall.
Frequently asked questions
Who inspects restaurants in Duval County?
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants, not the county or the city. Duval County is in the division’s District 5.
Do Florida restaurants get inspection scores or letter grades?
No. Florida gives no numeric scores or letter grades. Each inspection lists violations by type (high priority, intermediate and basic) and ends with an outcome, such as no further action, a warning or an administrative complaint.
How do I look up a restaurant’s inspection in Jacksonville?
Search the business name or address on the state’s MyFloridaLicense.com license search, or download the state’s District 5 food service inspection file.
What does an emergency order mean on a Florida restaurant inspection?
The inspector recommended that the business close until problems are fixed. A follow-up visit shows whether it complied and reopened.
How do I report a restaurant in Jacksonville?
File a complaint with the Division of Hotels and Restaurants through MyFloridaLicense.com or call 850-487-1395.
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