What to Keep After Hood Cleaning

What must the cleaning certificate show?

NFPA 96 sections 12.6.13 through 12.6.16, as ProKEC publishes them, require a certificate that shows the company name, the person performing the work, and the date. That certificate is maintained, and written reports are provided to the owner. A logo on the hood with no name, no person, and no date does not meet that description.

Inspectors and insurers ask for proof of recent professional cleaning. The proof is the record, not the shine on the canopy. ProKEC’s standards page states the minimum: company, person, and date on the certificate, and a written report to the owner.

The person line matters because a company name alone does not say who was on the roof or on the cook line. The date matters because a certificate from a prior tenant or a prior year does not describe the system in front of the inspector today. File them by date and by kitchen when a building has more than one hood.

What belongs in the written report when a section cannot be reached?

The written report goes to the owner with the certificate. When a duct has no clean-out, or a fan cannot be opened, that limit has to be written down. ProKEC documents inaccessible sections so facilities can schedule repairs instead of discovering the gap during a survey. A report that skips the unreached run overstates the clean.

Industry pages for healthcare, government, and multi-location kitchens already say the same thing: inaccessible sections are documented so repairs can be authorized. The certificate still carries company, person, and date. The report carries the scope that was actually completed.

Owners use that note to order access panels or to schedule a return clean after the panel exists. Until then, the file should not read as if the entire duct and fan were cleaned to 0.002 inch. Thickness rules apply to surfaces that can be reached. The report is how you show which surfaces those were.

Where should the certificate and report stay?

Keep the certificate and the written report on the premises, filed by date and by location. Many operators also keep a service sticker on the hood, but the sticker is not a substitute for the report in the file. When the fire inspection reaches the kitchen, the person on site should be able to produce the latest record.

Two weeks before an inspection is the practical moment to confirm the file. If the date is old relative to your Table 12.4 row, or the report is missing, schedule the professional clean before the inspection morning. A last-minute wipe of the hood face does not create a certificate.

Multi-kitchen sites need one record per system. A hotel, campus, or hospital that files a single undated sheet for every hood cannot show which fan was cleaned. Name the kitchen on the report the way the building names it.

How does ProKEC document the job?

ProKEC performs kitchen exhaust cleaning to NFPA 96 standards and provides a detailed service report and a certificate of compliance for your records and inspections. The certificate carries the company, the person who did the work, and the date. The report covers the completed scope. If access blocked part of the system, that limit is written down.

The evaluation before the clean is separate from the certificate. The evaluation reviews hoods, filters, access, ducts, and fans and recommends scope. The certificate is issued when the agreed work is done. Do not treat a proposal as the inspection record.

This guide is the operator checklist for the file. The thickness guide explains when grease depth means the system must be cleaned. Together they answer two different questions: did the deposit require a clean, and can you prove the clean that followed. Neither page is a legal interpretation for your authority having jurisdiction.

How do you file the record after a clean?

When the crew finishes, read the certificate for company, person, and date. Read the report for the hoods, ducts, and fans that were in scope, and for any section marked inaccessible. File both by kitchen and date. Tell the manager where the folder is. Book the next inspection from your Table 12.4 row so the certificate does not age out.

1. Check the three certificate fields. Company name, the person who performed the work, and the date. If one is missing, ask for a corrected certificate before the crew is gone.
2. Read the written report. Confirm it is addressed to the owner and that it matches the kitchens you expected to be cleaned.
3. Mark anything unreached. Inaccessible ducts or fans should be named. That note is the repair list, not a failure to file.
4. Store it where the inspection starts. On the premises, by date and location. A sticker on the hood can point to the file. It does not replace the file.
5. Set the next date. Use the Table 12.4 row for that kitchen. Put the follow-up on a calendar the operator actually opens.

What should be in the file before an inspection?

Before a fire inspection, the file for each hood should include a certificate with company, person, and date, and a written report to the owner. The date should fit the kitchen’s inspection row. Unreached sections should be listed. The person walking the inspector should know which folder holds the latest job, not a stack of undated estimates.

• Certificate shows the company name
• Certificate names the person who performed the work
• Certificate shows the date of the inspection or cleaning
• Written report was provided to the owner
• Each kitchen or hood line has its own record
• Inaccessible sections are written down, not omitted
• The date still fits the Table 12.4 row for that cooking volume
• Staff can produce the file without searching email during the inspection

Questions about cleaning records

These answers restate the certificate rule ProKEC publishes for NFPA 96 sections 12.6.13 through 12.6.16, plus the inaccessible-section note already used on our facility pages. They describe the file. Keep one set per kitchen. They do not promise a particular inspection result.