Guide · FHRS scoring · EHO
The sticker is the end of a points calculation. Here is the scale each area is scored on, how the totals map to a 0-5 rating, and the cap that quietly drops it a band.
The short answer
Scores on the doors is the everyday name for the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme. The rating you see on the sticker is the end of a points calculation across three areas - and cleanliness is one of them, scored on a clear scale.
An officer scores each area in intervention points where zero is best and a higher number is worse. The three scores are added to a total, and the total maps to a rating from 0 to 5. Understanding the scale tells you exactly how much room for error you have - and where a deep clean buys you marks.
The scale
Two of the three areas - hygienic food handling, and cleanliness and condition of the structure - are each scored on the same scale: 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 points, with 0 meaning full compliance and 25 meaning very poor. The third area, confidence in management, runs on a slightly different scale: 0, 5, 10, 20 or 30 - there is no 15 and no 25, so it jumps straight from 10 to 20. That quirk catches people out, because a management shortfall moves the needle further than they expect.
Cleanliness lives mostly in the structure score. Get the premises, equipment, extraction and high-level surfaces genuinely clean and well-kept, and that area scores low. Let grease, hidden soil and condition issues build up, and the points climb - which is the part of the calculation a professional deep clean is built to bring back down.
From points to rating
Add the three area scores and the total maps to a rating, roughly: a total of 0 to 15 is a 5, 20 is a 4, 25 to 30 is a 3, 35 to 40 is a 2, 45 to 50 is a 1, and above 50 is a 0. So far, simple. The catch is the cap: even with a low total, a single high area score pulls the rating down a band at a time until the worst area no longer exceeds the limit for that band. To earn a 5, no single area may score above 5.
Here is the worked example that makes it click. A kitchen scores a total of 20, which would normally be a 4 - but one of its areas scored 15. That 15 breaches the cap for a 4, so the rating drops to 3. One weak area undermined two strong ones. It is why a kitchen cannot clean its way to a 5 while ignoring its records, and cannot rely on good paperwork while the structure is filthy. The deep clean keeps your cleanliness and condition score low so it is never the area that caps you - then the rest is down to handling and management.
Questions
Hygienic food handling; the cleanliness and condition of the structure (premises, equipment, ventilation); and confidence in management (your systems, records and training). The three are scored separately, added, and mapped to a 0-5 rating.
Food handling and structure are each scored 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25, with 0 being full compliance. Confidence in management is scored 0, 5, 10, 20 or 30 - there is no 15 or 25, so it jumps from 10 to 20.
Broadly: 0-15 total is a 5, 20 is a 4, 25-30 is a 3, 35-40 is a 2, 45-50 is a 1, and over 50 is a 0. But a single high area score can pull the rating below what the total alone would give.
Even with a good total, if one area scores too high for the band, the rating drops one band at a time until the worst area fits. For a 5, no single area may score above 5. A total of 20 with a 15 in one area becomes a 3, not a 4.
Cleanliness sits mainly in the structure score. A deep clean of the premises, equipment, extraction and high-level surfaces keeps that area low, so it is never the area that caps your rating.
No. Because the worst area caps the rating, strong management cannot rescue a high structure score, and a clean room cannot rescue weak management. You need all three areas in good shape.
Phoenix Duct Clean · by the numbers
We bring the structure and cleanliness score down so it never caps your rating, with dated before-and-after proof. Ask for a quote for your kitchen.