Florida inspects Panama City restaurants; there are no letter grades. Of 156 first visits since July 1, 124 needed no further action. How to look one up.
Last checked Oct. 9, 2026. Figures come from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s food service inspection file for District 6, downloaded Oct. 9, 2026, through the state’s public records page. We refresh it monthly.
In Florida, restaurants are inspected by the state, not by Bay County. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants licenses and inspects every public food service business. Florida gives no numeric scores or letter grades; each inspection lists violations and ends with an outcome.
Who to call
- Division of Hotels and Restaurants: 850-487-1395
- Look up a restaurant: MyFloridaLicense.com license search
- File a complaint: MyFloridaLicense.com
Panama City since July 1
From July 1 to Oct. 8, 2026, state inspectors made 156 first-visit inspections at 144 food service businesses with a Panama City mailing address. Most were routine (115); 25 followed a complaint and 16 were licensing inspections of new or changed businesses.
A Panama City address does not always mean the city itself. The count includes ZIP codes such as 32408 and 32413 that use the Panama City name outside city limits; 136 of the 156 inspections were in the 32401, 32404 and 32405 ZIP codes that cover most of the city.
| Outcome of the first visit | Inspections | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection completed, no further action | 124 | 79% |
| Warning issued (a follow-up visit is set) | 24 | 15% |
| Administrative complaint recommended | 6 | 4% |
| Emergency order recommended (closure until fixed) | 2 | 1% |
96 of the 156 inspections found no high-priority violations. The middle inspection found three violations of all kinds. Across all of Bay County in the same period there were 405 first-visit inspections, and 308 of them ended with no further action. The state’s file lists outcomes, not the reasons for them, and a recommended action is not a final finding.
How to read an inspection
According to the division’s inspections page:
- High priority violations are those that could contribute directly to foodborne illness or injury, such as holding food at the wrong temperature, bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food or signs of rodents or insects.
- Intermediate violations could lead to those risks if not fixed.
- Basic violations are, in the state’s words, “considered best practices to implement.”
Each restaurant gets one to four unannounced inspections a year, depending on its risk: the food it serves, how it prepares it and its record. Complaints can bring extra visits.
The outcomes:
- No further action: the inspection is complete.
- Warning issued: violations must be corrected by a set date, and the inspector returns.
- Administrative complaint recommended: high-priority violations, or violations not corrected after an earlier visit, need administrative action to ensure compliance.
- Emergency order recommended: the inspector recommended closing the business until the violations are corrected. A callback visit shows whether it complied.
Look up a restaurant
Search any Panama City restaurant by name or address on the state’s license search. Full reports list each violation in the inspector’s words. The raw data, statewide and by district, is on the public records page. District 6 covers Bay County along with Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton and Washington counties.
Method
We counted rows in the state’s District 6 file whose county is Bay, whose location city is Panama City and whose inspection date is July 1 to Oct. 8, 2026, using only first visits (visit number 1) so follow-ups are not counted twice. Shares are rounded. We do not rank or name restaurants on this page; individual results are in the state’s records.
What this means for you
- Florida has no grades on the door; look up the latest inspection yourself.
- A warning means problems to fix by a deadline, not a closure.
- Report a concern to the state, not the city or county.
Related: new businesses in Panama City and who to call at City Hall.
Frequently asked questions
Who inspects restaurants in Panama City?
The state. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants licenses and inspects public food service businesses, not the city or the Bay County health department.
Do Florida restaurants get inspection scores or grades?
No. Florida gives no numeric scores or letter grades. Each inspection lists violations as high priority, intermediate or basic, and ends with an outcome such as no further action or a warning.
How do I look up a restaurant’s inspection in Panama City?
Search the business name or address on the state’s MyFloridaLicense.com license search, or download the state’s District 6 inspection file, which covers Bay County.
How do I report a restaurant in Panama City?
File a complaint with the Division of Hotels and Restaurants through MyFloridaLicense.com or call 850-487-1395. Complaints can lead to an extra inspection.
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