Guide
Two-week report windows under NFPA (secondary cite)
The sticker goes on the hood the night of the visit. The written report is a different clock. Secondary explainers of NFPA 96 (2024 framing) say the equipment owner — or the owner’s agent — must receive a written inspection report and, when cleaning ran, a written cleaning report within two weeks of the work. Missing that window is a paperwork deficiency even when the cookline looks clean. Section numbers below are secondary summaries. Verify the edition your AHJ adopted. Not legal advice.
Two clocks, two reports
| Deliverable | Secondary clock | What it mainly covers |
|---|---|---|
| Hood service label | Affixed at the visit; stays until next inspection/cleaning | Date, technician name, provider contact — walk-by proof |
| Inspection report (§12.6.14) | To owner / agent within 2 weeks of the inspection | Grease findings vs thresholds; inaccessible / skipped areas; panel locations; visible duct or panel leakage |
| Cleaning report (§12.6.15) | To owner / agent within 2 weeks of the cleaning | Who cleaned + date + provider ID; areas not cleaned (couldn’t reach / skipped); panel locations; leakage notes |
| AHJ copy (§12.6.16) | Where local rule requires it | Same reports submitted to the fire marshal — city-dependent |
Same visit can produce both an inspection report and a cleaning report. File them as separate tabs when both exist — see inspection vs cleaning.
What the reports must include (secondary detail lists)
Inspection report (§12.6.14.1 framing)
- Areas where grease exceeds the applicable depth thresholds (secondary §12.6.1.1 ladder)
- Areas that could not be reached — therefore not inspected
- Areas that could have been reached but were not inspected
- Locations of duct access panels
- Visible duct leakage
- Leaking access panels
Cleaning report (§12.6.15.1 / .15.2 framing)
- Date cleaned; technician name; provider name / address / phone
- Areas that could not be reached — therefore not cleaned
- Areas reachable but not cleaned
- Locations of duct access panels
- Visible duct leakage
- Leaking access panels
The inaccessible / skipped lists are the operator’s best filter for a thin job. A one-pager that says “system cleaned, all good” with no callouts is incomplete on its face under this secondary framing. Full photo/scope checklist: cleaning report checklist.
If the report is late
- Secondary industry write-ups treat “no written report inside the two-week window” as a recurring deficiency pattern alongside missing/expired labels
- A fresh sticker without a filed report leaves you exposed at reinspection and at insurance loss-control — the sticker answers who/when; the report answers what was and was not done
- You own the file as equipment owner / assigned operator (secondary §4.1.5 framing) — waiting politely is not a compliance strategy
- Older excerpt mirrors may collapse inspection + cleaning into different section numbers; confirm against the edition your AHJ named before you argue citations
Operator checklist — demand the PDF inside the window
- Day 0 (visit night): photograph the hood label; confirm inspection-only, cleaning, or both; note inaccessible areas the tech said out loud
- Day 1: email the vendor: “Please send the written inspection/cleaning report(s) per the two-week window — include inaccessible / not-cleaned areas and panel locations.”
- Day 7: if nothing landed, escalate (office manager / account rep); copy your facilities lead
- Day 10: final chase; hold payment release if your contract ties pay to documentation
- Day 14: if still empty, treat as a documentation failure — schedule return paperwork or a different vendor before the next marshal window
- File PDF + path photos in the on-site binder; match label date to report date (see before/after photos: why insurers care)
- Ask once whether your city requires AHJ submission (secondary §12.6.16) — do not assume every marshal wants a copy emailed
Who it’s for / not for
- For: operators who keep getting stickers and never PDFs; multi-site managers writing SOWs with documentation SLAs; anyone fixing a citation that names missing reports
- Not for: inventing fine amounts from this page; substituting secondary blogs for the official NFPA text; assuming every AHJ uses the 2024 section numbers
Sources
- Facilitec Southwest — cleaning report & service label (secondary; §12.6.14 / §12.6.15 two-week rules; report content lists; §12.6.16 AHJ submission)
- Facilitec Southwest — NFPA 96 codes reference (secondary; inspection/cleaning report and documentation sections)
- Facilitec Southwest — failed fire marshal inspection (secondary; missing report inside the window as a cited documentation gap)
- NFPA — Second Revision statements (NFPA 96) (standards-development PDF describing report-window / label revisions — not the published standard)
- Hood Cleaning Schools — NFPA 96 excerpts page (secondary excerpt mirror; section numbering may reflect an older edition — verify)
- FindHoodCleaner — hood cleaning documentation (secondary operator framing)
Next step
Open your last vendor visit date. Count fourteen calendar days. If the written report is not in the binder, send the day-1 email template above tonight — and put day-7 / day-10 reminders on the calendar for every future visit before you need them.