How ratings work
United States
FAQ · visual guide
Two different systems sit on every card: the health inspection plate (official public record) and GradeLocal ★ (member ratings). The sticky rail uses a third cousin — the average health medallion for whatever place you’ve filtered to.
1. Health plate (on each listing card)
This is the kitchen’s latest published health inspection. Label says HEALTH. Number is score / 100. Date is the inspection. Letter is from the source when printed, otherwise derived from the score.
- Open public record on a card for the official source.
- Why this Health score appears only when the source published violation detail.
- Outside Tennessee, scores come from that state’s published health department (or county) records — same plate UI.
2. Avg Health Score medallion (sticky rail)
Not a city “grade from TDH.” It’s the mean of health scores for the listings currently shown (your state / county / city filter). Letter is derived the same way: A≥90, B≥80, C≥70, D≥60, else F.
3. GradeLocal ★ (member rating)
Independent of health. Signed-in members pick 1–5 stars. We show the average and how many people rated. Empty until the first rating.
- One rating per member per listing; you can update yours.
- Never Google / Yelp sample data.
- Sorting by GradeLocal ★ loads ratings for the filtered set, then ranks by average.
Quick compare
- Health plate = one kitchen’s official inspection.
- Avg medallion = mean of health scores in your current filter (rail).
- GradeLocal ★ = diner opinions from logged-in members.
More legal / source detail: Sources & Disclaimer.