The 15 kinds of inspection Chicago actually runs

Every inspection record in the city's dataset carries an inspection type. Over the last five years, Chicago's restaurants and food businesses have seen fifteen of them in meaningful numbers, and a few dozen more that are typos or one-offs. Here's the real list, roughly in order of how often each shows up.

The big four

Canvass. Around 43,000 in five years. This is the routine, unannounced visit. The inspector shows up on a schedule set by the restaurant's risk level and looks at everything.

License. Around 12,000. Required before a business license is issued or renewed. These fail a lot, and often with zero violations, because the fail can be about paperwork or the kitchen simply not being finished.

Canvass Re-Inspection. Around 11,000. The follow-up after a canvass fail. Most of these pass.

Complaint. Around 9,000. Someone called 311 or filed a complaint online and the city sent an inspector. These have a higher fail rate than canvasses, which makes sense. Somebody already saw something.

The follow-ups

Complaint Re-Inspection and License Re-Inspection are what they sound like: the second visit after a fail of that type. Together they're around 6,700 in five years.

Short Form Complaint, about 1,800, is a narrower check focused on whatever was reported rather than a full walk-through.

The rare ones

Non-Inspection, around 4,800, is an administrative visit where no inspection took place. Think of it as a note in the file.

Suspected Food Poisoning, 123 in five years, is exactly what it sounds like. Someone reported getting sick and the city investigated. There are also 30 re-inspections of that type.

Recent Inspection, 153, is a short check-in at a place that was inspected very recently. We've looked at these and they're almost all clean passes.

Not Ready, Consultation, and Special Events (Festivals) round out the list. Not Ready is a license inspection that couldn't happen because the kitchen wasn't built out. Consultation is an owner asking for advice before opening. Special Events covers temporary vendors at festivals.

Why it matters when you're reading a report

A fail on a License inspection and a fail on a Complaint inspection are not the same event. The first is often about a new business that isn't finished. The second means a member of the public reported something and an inspector confirmed enough of it to fail the place. On every restaurant page we now put the inspection type right next to the date, with a one-line explanation, because the type is half the story.