Food hygiene ratings are law in Wales

In Wales a food business must display its hygiene rating sticker. That is not a courtesy. It is the Food Hygiene Rating (Wales) Act 2013.

England still runs the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, but display is not a legal duty in the same way. If you are used to English high streets, Wales is stricter on the door.

The scheme went live on 28 November 2013. Ratings run from 5 (very good) to 0 (urgent improvement required). The score is about hygiene compliance — structure, food handling, confidence in management — not whether the food is good.

What you should see

The sticker belongs at or near each customer entrance, where you can read it before you sit down or order. You can also look the business up on ratings.food.gov.uk.

If there is no sticker, that is a fact about the premises, not a vibe. Local authorities can issue a £200 fixed penalty for failing to display (£150 if paid within 14 days), as set in the Act.

What the Welsh Government says it changed

On the tenth anniversary of mandatory display, GOV.WALES and the Food Standards Agency reported that 71% of Welsh food businesses held a rating of 5, up from 44% a decade earlier, and that 96% were at 3 or above. The rating is still one inspection on one day. A 5 is not a lifetime badge.

Re-rating is not free

If a business has put right what the inspector listed, it can apply for a re-rating visit. Food authorities in Wales charge for that visit. Shared Regulatory Services and several councils publish £255 as the current fee (set nationally by the Environmental Health Wales Food Safety Expert Panel from October 2024). The current sticker stays up until the new rating is issued.

How to use this when you eat

Check the sticker, then the menu price, then whether service is extra. The rating does not tell you about allergens or tourist-town “from £18” boards — that is a different question, covered in how to read a menu price.

Town restaurant chapters on Know Wales use FSA ratings as proof, not as a “best of” list.