The standard, in plain language
What NFPA 96 actually asks of your kitchen
NFPA 96 is the national standard for ventilation and fire protection of commercial cooking operations. Here is what it says about how often your exhaust system has to be looked at, and what happens next.
The distinction that matters
An inspection schedule, not a cleaning schedule
Most hood cleaning companies will tell you the code requires cleaning every three or six months. That is a useful shorthand, and it is not quite what the standard says.
What the standard sets
NFPA 96 sets a schedule for how often the exhaust system must be inspected for grease buildup by a qualified person. That schedule is Table 12.4 in the 2024 edition, and it sorts kitchens into four categories by cooking volume and fuel type.
Cleaning is a separate requirement with a separate trigger. When an inspection finds grease at the depth the standard specifies, the system has to be cleaned to bare metal. In practice, a high-volume kitchen inspected quarterly will need cleaning at close to that same rhythm, which is where the shorthand comes from.
Why the difference is worth knowing
It changes the conversation with your landlord, your insurer, and the fire marshal. You are not buying a cleaning on a calendar. You are keeping a system below a grease threshold and holding documentation that proves it.
It also explains why two restaurants on the same block can sit on different schedules. Your interval follows what you cook and how much of it, not the size of your dining room.
One thing to confirm locally
Cities adopt specific editions of the standard, and the chapter numbering has shifted between them. The frequency table appears as Table 12.4 in the 2024 edition and under Chapter 11 in earlier ones. The intervals themselves have not changed. We confirm the edition your authority enforces as part of the free assessment.
The four categories
Which one is your kitchen?
Cooking volume and fuel type decide your interval. If you are between two of these, the shorter one applies.
Solid-fuel cooking
- Wood-fired ovens, charcoal grills, and any equipment burning solid fuel.
- Solid fuel produces creosote as well as grease, and it builds fast.
- This is the shortest interval in the standard and the one most commonly missed, usually because the kitchen was quoted on a general restaurant schedule.
High-volume cooking
- 24-hour operations, heavy char-broiling, and high-output wok lines.
- Volume is about how much grease-laden vapour the equipment produces, not how many seats you have.
- A busy 40-seat wok kitchen can out-produce a 200-seat dining room.
Moderate-volume cooking
- Standard full-service restaurants and hotel kitchens.
- This is where most independent Houston restaurants land.
- It is also the interval most often assumed by default, which is why confirming it on site matters.
Low-volume cooking
- Churches, day camps, senior centres, seasonal kitchens, and event spaces.
- Light or occasional cooking with long idle periods.
- Low volume does not mean no obligation. The system still has to be inspected on schedule.
Not sure which one describes your kitchen?
We confirm it on site, in about twenty minutes, at no charge. You get the interval in writing along with a quote.
What a compliant clean covers
Bare metal, end to end
When cleaning is required, it applies to the whole exhaust path, not the part of it you can see from the kitchen floor.
Hood and canopy
Degreased to bare metal. This is the first surface an inspector looks at, and the easiest one to fake with a wipe-down.
Filters and ductwork
Filters pulled and soaked. Ductwork cleaned along the full run, including the horizontal sections nobody sees.
Rooftop fan
Housing and blades degreased, hinge kit checked, grease containment handled. This is where rooftop fires start.
See exactly what we do on each visit
Our full-system scope, broken down component by component, with what gets photographed and logged.