Restaurant Grease Compliance Checker
Answer 5 quick questions to find out if your kitchen meets CDFA used cooking oil compliance requirements.
Do you have a current UCO hauler with a CDFA IKG registration?
Compliant the Easy Way
Done with no-show grease haulers and overflowing bins? Tell us where your kitchen is and we put you on a reliable route with a free locked bin. It is free because we are paid for the oil, not by you. No contract, no fees, no minimum volume.
Staying compliant comes down to proper collection and documentation. Every Oil Guyz pickup includes a CDFA-compliant digital manifest, emailed the moment the work is logged, so your records are always audit-ready.
Fill out the form and we'll handle pickup and the paperwork for you.
- Truly free. We are paid for the oil, not by you
- No contracts. Cancel anytime
- No minimum volume. Any kitchen size
- Free locked, anti-theft bin
- Compliant digital manifest after every pickup
- Instant confirmation, then a real person calls you
Request your free oil pickup
Free bin · No contract · Cancel anytime. You get an instant confirmation that we got it, then a real person calls to set up your pickup. No spam, no robocalls.
Prefer to talk? Call (714) 880-4788
How to Check Your Restaurant Grease Compliance in California
This free compliance checker helps restaurant owners in California quickly assess whether their used cooking oil and grease trap management meets CDFA requirements. Answer five questions about your current hauler, documentation, maintenance schedule, record-keeping, and container setup to get an instant compliance score with specific recommendations for any gaps.
California has some of the strictest grease disposal regulations in the country. The California Department of Food and Agriculture requires every restaurant to use a CDFA-registered Inedible Kitchen Grease hauler and receive a manifest documenting each pickup. Local health departments and regional water quality control boards enforce additional requirements around grease trap maintenance, FOG discharge limits, and record retention. A single failed inspection can result in fines from $200 to over $5,000 and mandatory corrective actions.
What Does CDFA Compliance Mean for Restaurant Grease?
CDFA compliance means your restaurant uses a hauler registered under the Inedible Kitchen Grease program to transport used cooking oil. Every pickup must be documented with a manifest that includes the date, volume, driver credentials, vehicle ID, and licensed destination facility. These records must be retained and available for inspection. Using an unregistered hauler, even if they offer lower prices or faster service, exposes your restaurant to regulatory liability if the oil is disposed of improperly.
What Do Health Inspectors Look For During a Grease Inspection?
Health inspectors and FOG program officers typically check four things during a restaurant grease inspection: proof that your hauler is CDFA-registered, manifests or receipts from recent pickups, your grease trap maintenance schedule and most recent pumping date, and the condition of your outdoor collection container. Missing any of these triggers a citation. Restaurants with digital manifests accessible from a phone or tablet can satisfy inspector requests in seconds, a significant advantage over paper-based record systems.
How to Get Your Restaurant Fully Compliant
The fastest path to full compliance is working with a registered hauler who provides digital manifests, maintains your container, and coordinates your grease trap pumping schedule. A good hauler eliminates compliance gaps automatically, every pickup generates documentation, every container is inspected, and every record is stored digitally for instant retrieval. If your compliance checker score revealed gaps, the most impactful step is switching to a hauler who handles documentation as part of the standard service.
How this checker works, and what it does not do
What it uses
Five answers, and nothing else. You tell us Yes, No, or Not Sure about your hauler, your manifests, your grease trap schedule, your records, and your oil container. Nothing about your restaurant is looked up, and no answers are stored or sent anywhere.
How it scores
Yes scores 2 points, Not Sure scores 1, and No scores 0, for a maximum of 10. A total of 8 or higher reads as Compliant, 5 to 7 reads as At Risk, and under 5 reads as Non-Compliant. Those weights and cutoffs are ours. They are a prioritization tool built around the gaps inspectors ask about first, not a score published or recognized by CDFA or any health department.
The rule behind each question
- Q1, does your hauler hold a CDFA registration. California Food and Agricultural Code section 19310 makes it unlawful to engage in the transportation of inedible kitchen grease without being registered with the department and holding a valid registration certificate. 3 CCR 1180.20 adds that no vehicle may transport inedible kitchen grease unless its owner is registered with the department, and requires an annually issued vehicle decal plus business identification on both front doors.
- Q2, do you get a manifest for every pickup. 3 CCR 1180.24 sets the manifest contents: transporter name, generator name and address, collection date and time, grease type, amount collected and received, a generator representative signature, driver name and signature, the department-issued vehicle decal number, receiving facility name and address, receipt date and time, the receiving facility signature, and a consecutive manifest number.
- Q3, is your grease trap on a regular schedule. This one is not a CDFA rule. Grease trap and interceptor maintenance is set by your local sanitation district or city FOG program, and those local requirements are what control. We score it because it is the second thing an inspector asks about after your oil paperwork. The grease trap calculator methodology covers how those local rules work.
- Q4, are your records accessible. Under 3 CCR 1180.24 the transporter and the receiving facility each keep their part of every manifest for two years, and a personal noncommercial transporter keeps a written record for not less than two years. Two years is the state minimum. Oil Guyz retains records for two years as company policy, which is longer than the regulation requires, not a legal requirement.
- Q5, do you have a sealed, lockable container. Be clear on this one: CDFA does not mandate a lock. 3 CCR 1180.22 requires only that containers placed at restaurants carry signage identifying the container owner in letters at least two inches high, and that containers be kept clean. Locking is a theft, spill, and pest control practice, and some local codes add enclosure or containment rules of their own. We score it as a best practice, not as a state requirement.
What it cannot tell you
- It is a five-question self-assessment. It is not an audit, an inspection, or legal advice, and a high score is not proof of compliance.
- Not Sure earns partial credit, so a score built on Not Sure answers is really a list of things to go verify, not a pass.
- It covers CDFA used cooking oil handling plus two common local issues. It does not cover local health code, wastewater discharge permits, stormwater, fire code, solid waste, or organic waste rules.
- The questions are written for California. Other states, including Washington, handle used cooking oil transport differently and have no CDFA equivalent, so the scoring does not transfer.
- Nothing here is verified against your actual hauler, your actual paperwork, or your local agency. Only your records and your agency can confirm those.
Sources
- California Food and Agricultural Code section 19310, registration to transport inedible kitchen grease
- 3 CCR 1180.20, Transporters of Inedible Kitchen Grease
- 3 CCR 1180.22, Containers Placed at Restaurants, Institutions and Other Facilities
- 3 CCR 1180.24, Requirements to Document and Track the Collection, Transport, and Receipt of Inedible Kitchen Grease
- CDFA Rendering and Inedible Kitchen Grease program FAQ
Last reviewed: July 30, 2026. Every source link above was checked on that date.
Restaurant grease compliance, frequently asked
The California Department of Food and Agriculture requires that all used cooking oil be collected by a registered Inedible Kitchen Grease transporter. Restaurants must receive a manifest documenting each pickup, and records must be available for inspection. Non-compliance can result in fines and health code violations.
You should review your compliance at least quarterly, or whenever you change haulers, locations, or grease management procedures. Keeping up with compliance proactively is far cheaper than dealing with violations after an inspection.
Start by addressing any questions where you answered No or Not Sure. The most critical step is ensuring your hauler has a valid CDFA IKG transporter registration and that you receive manifests for every pickup. A registered hauler can help you close all gaps quickly.
No. This tool provides a quick self-assessment to identify potential gaps. For a full compliance audit, consult with a registered hauler or your local health department. This checker covers the most common issues found during inspections.