Grease Trap Inspection Tampa | Pre-Inspection & Purchase

Last updated: November 14, 2026

Grease Trap Cleaning Tampa carries out grease trap inspections for restaurants, landlords and buyers across Tampa, Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco. A grease trap inspection opens and measures the trap or interceptor, checks every fitting an inspector checks, reviews your logbook and manifests, and gives you a written report of what passes and what doesn't.

Two kinds of customer book one. Operators want to find problems before the City or County inspector does. Buyers and tenants want to know what they are taking on, because in the City of Tampa a sale or change of ownership is one of the triggers that lets the City require a new or upgraded trap.

What happens on the first visit

Open and measure. Grease and solids depth against your jurisdiction's limit (25% in most programs, 20% in Pasco, 6 in grease and 8 in solids in Pinellas County).
Check the fittings. Baffles, inlet and outlet tees, lids and risers. On indoor traps, the flow-control device and the vent (Tampa requires the vent to end at least 6 inches above the flood rim).
Check the connections. Every grease-producing fixture should drain through the unit, and no restroom waste may enter it.
Review the records. Logbook, manifests and receipts against the retention period your program sets.
Report. A written list of what passes, what fails, and what to fix first.

What a city or county inspector looks for

Local programs inspect on their own schedule. Hillsborough County runs scheduled and unannounced visits and may take wastewater samples. The City of Tampa inspects as often as it considers necessary, and St. Petersburg says the same. Inspectors open the unit, check its condition, and ask for your records. In St. Petersburg they also ask whether your staff follow the city's best-management practices. A pre-inspection runs the same checks first. See what grease trap inspectors look for.

Inspection before buying or leasing a restaurant

In the City of Tampa, the grease program can require an existing facility to install a new trap or interceptor, or repair a non-compliant one, when any of several conditions apply. These include a sale or change of ownership, remodelling that needs a plumbing permit, no trap at all, a defective trap, or grease levels in the wastewater above 400 mg/l (Tampa Code Sec. 26-306(b)(2)). A new 750–1,500 gallon interceptor costs $4,000–$8,500 installed, according to the City's own FAQ. That's worth knowing before you sign.

A pre-purchase inspection documents the trap's size, condition, connections and records so the cost lands in the negotiation, not on you after closing. See grease trap rules when buying a restaurant.

What's included

Grease and solids depth measured
Baffles, tees, lids and risers checked
Flow-control device and vent checked on indoor traps
Fixture connections and no-sanitary-waste check
Logbook and manifests reviewed
Written pass/fail report
Fix-first list in priority order
Pre-purchase findings for buyers and brokers

Pricing and payment

Inspections are priced per visit and quoted on the call, based on the number and type of units and whether a pump-out is done in the same visit. Ask for a written quote before any work starts. Prices on this site are typical market ranges, not quotes.

DIY vs the cheapest hauler vs doing it properly

Comparison of DIY, cheapest hauler and proper service
Factor	Do it yourself	Cheapest hauler	Done properly
What's legal	Small indoor traps only, with a written protocol (Tampa) or under 50 lb capacity (Hillsborough County)	Pump-and-return is banned statewide, but still happens	Full pump-out to empty, as Florida law and every local program require
What gets removed	Floating grease you can scoop	Often just the top layer and some water	Floating grease, gray water, bottom solids, and buildup scraped off walls and baffles
Paperwork	Your own log entry	A receipt, sometimes	Signed manifest with volume, condition and disposal ticket number
Checked against the rule	Rarely measured	Not measured	Grease and solids depth measured against your jurisdiction's limit
Problems spotted	Only what you can see	Usually not reported	Cracked baffles, missing tees and flow-control issues noted in writing
Real cost	Staff time; risk of a failed inspection	Low price, then repeat clogs and re-inspection fees	A known price per visit on the schedule your rule sets

Related resources

How grease trap inspection works

Step 1: First call

Tell us the kitchen's address, what kind of unit you have, and when it was last pumped. We tell you which rule applies and give a price range on the phone.
Step 2: On-site check

We open the lids, measure grease and solids depth, and look at the baffles, tees and outlet. Ask for a written quote before work starts.
Step 3: Full pump-out

The unit is pumped to empty, walls and baffles are scraped, and the inlet and outlet are checked for flow.
Step 4: Manifest and schedule

You get a signed manifest for your logbook and a suggested date for the next visit, set by your rule and how fast the unit filled.

What the work looks like

Illustrative photos of the work described on this page.

Grease Trap Inspection questions

Will a grease trap inspection get me ready for the city inspector?

It runs the same checks the inspector does: depths, fittings, connections and records. Anything that fails is listed in writing, with what to fix first.

Does buying a restaurant in Tampa mean I need a new grease trap?

Not automatically. A sale or change of ownership lets the City require a new or upgraded trap if the current one doesn't comply. An inspection before closing tells you which side of that line you're on.

What records should I have ready?

Your maintenance logbook and every pump-out manifest and receipt. Keep at least a year in the City of Tampa and three years in Pinellas County, Pasco County and Temple Terrace.

Can you pump the trap in the same visit?

Yes. Many inspections finish with a full pump-out, so the unit leaves the visit compliant and documented.

Do I get paperwork I can show an inspector?

Yes. Every pump-out ends with a signed service manifest showing the date, the volume removed, the condition of the unit, confirmation that nothing was returned to it, and the disposal facility's ticket number. Florida law (F.S. 403.0741) requires you to keep that manifest on site for at least a year, and some local programs ask for three.

Grease Trap Inspection in Tampa