By the dispatch desk · 2026-03-04 · Read time ≈ 7 min
The 2025 revision of NFPA 96, the standard for ventilation control of commercial cooking operations, has been in force since the start of 2026. Most of the changes are technical and most do not change a line cook's day. Three of them do. Below is what they are, what they cost, and how to get ahead of each one.
One: solid-fuel cleaning is now monthly, not quarterly
Section 11.6.1 of the 2025 revision moves solid-fuel cooking operations to monthly cleaning, full stop. The 2017 edition had carved out a quarterly option for low-volume solid-fuel kitchens; the 2025 edition does not. If you cook over wood, charcoal, or pellet, your hood is on monthly cleaning. The U.S. Fire Administration's reporting on the upward trend of restaurant fires originating in solid-fuel ventilation systems is the implicit driver here.
Operator consequence: a monthly cleaning runs roughly $260 per visit for a single solid-fuel hood. Twelve visits a year. Annualized, this is roughly $1,920 over the prior quarterly cycle's $1,440 — a $480 increase. We have several Houston solid-fuel clients who have absorbed this directly into their plate price; one passed it to a $0.50 line on every bill. Either approach is reasonable.
Two: digital documentation is now required, not preferred
The 2025 revision adds explicit language requiring digital documentation of every cleaning and inspection event, retained for the duration of the AHJ's enforcement window. The retention floor is unchanged — most jurisdictions set this at two years — but the document medium has moved from "paper or electronic" to "electronic, with paper allowed only as a backup." The change is small but it is real.
Operator consequence: if you have been keeping cleaning records on paper in a binder behind the host stand, you need a digital workflow this year. We file every Updraft record into a per-operator portal at no charge; if you are working with another shop, ask them how they file. If they are still using paper, ask why.
Three: vertical-run access panels have to be accessible, not just installed
Section 8.1 of the 2025 revision tightens the access-panel rules for vertical duct runs. The prior language required access panels at every change of direction; the new language requires them every twelve linear feet on a vertical run, regardless of direction changes, AND requires that the panels be accessible — meaning unobstructed by ductwork, fire-suppression piping, or building structure — at all times. The change matters because most Houston commercial kitchen vertical runs are in chase walls, and a meaningful number of older buildings have access panels that were technically installed but were never reachable.
Operator consequence: this one will cost. Cutting and installing a new access panel on a vertical run in a chase wall is a several-hundred-dollar item, and it is rare to find a kitchen that needs only one. We have seen this drive $1,500–$3,000 of remediation work on three of the older buildings we cleaned this quarter. The good news: this is one-time. The bad news: the AHJ has been writing this up at inspection.
What we recommend
Three things. One: if you have solid-fuel cooking, move to monthly now if you have not already. The AHJ has a six-month grace period that ends June 30, 2026; after that the citations will start. Two: if your records are paper, ask your cleaning shop for digital. If they don't offer it, find a shop that does. Three: if you are in a building older than 2010, ask your shop to specifically inspect every vertical-run access panel on the next quarterly visit. If they are not accessible, you will be remediating sooner or later; sooner saves you the citation.
One thing we are watching
The 2028 revision is in committee now. The signal we are reading is that ASHRAE 154's capture-and-containment metrics may be referenced more directly in the next NFPA-96 edition. If that lands, capture-and-containment certification will move from "best practice we recommend annually" to "required annually." We will start writing about that closer to the time. For now: live with the three changes above, file your records digitally, and walk your access panels.