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Why is there a compliance or filing fee on my hood cleaning invoice?

Published · Compliance Binder

Where a jurisdiction requires inspection reports to be filed through a third party portal, the portal is usually funded by charging the contractor a fee for each system report submitted. Fees in the region of fifteen dollars per system have been published by these programmes, with the amount set per jurisdiction, and late filing surcharges are common. Whether the fee reaches your invoice is the contractor's commercial decision.

Why the fee exists

These programmes are typically provided to the fire department at no cost, and building owners are not charged either. The filing fee paid by contractors is what funds the platform. One published implementation states the arrangement plainly: free for the fire department, no charge to building owners, fee paid by third party contractors on a per system, per premises, per year basis.

What it does and does not buy you

The fee covers submission of the report to the fire department and the tracking that generates renewal and overdue notices. It does not purchase a copy of the report for you, and it does not give you an account on the portal. The building occupant is generally not a user of these systems. See whether you still need your own copy.

Reasonable things to ask your contractor

  • Which systems at this address they file, and on what cycle.
  • Whether the fee is charged per system or per visit. A restaurant with hood cleaning and hood suppression may be charged for two.
  • Whether they will email you the same report they filed. This costs nothing and is the single most useful thing to ask for.
  • Whether any late surcharge on the invoice resulted from a delay in filing rather than a delay in the work.

One thing worth knowing

Late filing surcharges are charged to the contractor for filing behind schedule, which is a separate matter from whether the service was performed on time. If a surcharge appears on your invoice, it is fair to ask which of the two it relates to.

This page describes what published standards say. It is not legal advice and it is not a determination about any premises. The requirements that apply to your building, including how often work must be done and what must be kept, are set by your authority having jurisdiction, which is usually your local fire marshal or health department. Where this page and your inspector disagree, your inspector is right.

Keeping this straight without thinking about it

Binder charges your contractors nothing. They send the report to your location's address, or you forward the one you already receive, and it is filed against that location with its service date.

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