Look up a state / IA
Restaurant inspections in Iowa
Who inspects, where the record lives, what the public actually sees, and whether it has to be posted on the door. Every line below links to the government source it came from.
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01
Who inspects
Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing (DIAL), Food Safety Bureau, which inspects 68 counties directly and contracts with 11 local health departments to manage licensing and inspection in the other 31 counties Agency page
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What the public sees
A narrative violation list with recorded violations and inspector comments; inspections are described as a snapshot of the day and time, with violations often corrected on the spot. Source
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Posting the result
Required to be posted. Businesses are required to post their inspection reports for the public to view. Rule
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Food code in force
2017 FDA Food Code (with Supplement). The FDA Food Code is a model, not a federal mandate — each state decides which edition to adopt and how far to amend it.
| Where to search | Coverage |
|---|---|
| Iowa Public Inspection Search | Statewide |
No official bulk or API dataset found. Results are available one establishment at a time, or by public records request.
If you run the restaurant
The record is public either way. The useful move is to read it before a customer does.
Pull your own record
Search yourself in the lookup above and read every line of the last three reports. Repeat violations are what escalate.
Work the ten risk factors
Most citations trace back to the same ten practices the FDA measures nationally. Run the ten-minute self-check.
Fix, document, re-inspect
Dated photos and a written correction log are what a re-inspection rewards. What to do after a bad inspection.
Other states
Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts — or see all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Improved a bad record in Iowa?
Our recognition program is for recovery, not for perfection. Nominations for the inaugural class are open.