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If you operate commercial kitchens in more than one state, you’ve probably noticed something frustrating: the cleaning standard sounds the same in every jurisdiction, but the way it’s enforced isn’t. A fire marshal in Fort Worth, a code official in Albuquerque, and a health inspector in New Orleans can all cite NFPA 96 — and still ask for different documentation, different frequencies, and different proof.
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This guide walks through what’s the same and what’s different for commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning across the five states we serve: Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas. It’s written for facility managers, multi-location restaurant operators, hospital and school nutrition directors, and anyone responsible for keeping a portfolio of kitchens grease-free and fire-safe.
In every state we serve, the cleaning standard for commercial kitchen exhaust systems traces back to the same document:Â NFPA 96, Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations. It’s the national reference adopted, directly or by incorporation, by the fire codes used across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas.
NFPA 96 sets the cleaning frequency by cooking volume and fuel type:
The standard also requires that cleaning be performed by trained, qualified personnel, that the entire system — from the hood to the rooftop fan — be cleaned to remove combustible deposits, and that records of each service be maintained for review by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ).
That last point matters more than it gets credit for. NFPA 96 places ultimate responsibility for inspection, maintenance, and cleanliness on the owner of the system — unless that responsibility is formally transferred in writing. For a multi-location operator, that means the documentation problem is yours to solve, no matter how many vendors you use.
Texas
2021 IFC, adopted city by city
Incorporated via IFC
Local fire marshal (varies by city)
Home-rule state — Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio all enforce 2021 IFC, sometimes with local amendments
Oklahoma
2021 IFC, statewide
Required for hood suppression and cleaning
Oklahoma State Fire Marshal + local AHJ
Plan submittals must reference NFPA 96
Oklahoma
2021 IFC
Incorporated via IFC
Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal
Strong central enforcement; code interpretations published online
Louisiana
2021 NM Fire Code
Incorporated via Fire Code
NM State Fire Marshal + local AHJ
Some jurisdictions still enforcing 2017 edition — confirm before service
New Mexico
2021 NM Fire Code
Incorporated via Fire Code
NM State Fire Marshal + local AHJ
Some jurisdictions still enforcing 2017 edition — confirm before service
Arkansas
State Fire Prevention Code
Incorporated via Fire Code
Arkansas Fire Protection Division + local AHJ
Owner responsibility under NFPA 96 explicitly stated
Texas is the largest piece of our service footprint and the most jurisdictionally fragmented. The state operates as a home-rule jurisdiction — there’s no single statewide mandatory commercial fire code. Instead, each city adopts its own version of the International Fire Code (IFC) and amends it locally. Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio have all adopted the 2021 IFC, which incorporates NFPA 96 for commercial cooking operations.
What this means in practice: the cleaning standard is consistent, but the documentation and inspection cadence can vary block by block. A restaurant operator with locations in Austin and San Antonio may face different local amendments at each address. We follow NFPA 96 guidelines for cleaning and inspection in every Texas market we serve — Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Midland, Odessa, Lubbock, Amarillo, and Abilene — and we keep documentation built for the local AHJ’s expectations.
The Oklahoma State Fire Marshal requires commercial cooking operations to conform to the International Fire Code and NFPA 96 (along with NFPA 17 or NFPA 17A for the fire suppression system itself). Compared with Texas, enforcement is more centralized — plan submittals and inspections often involve the State Fire Marshal’s office directly, especially for new installations and substantial renovations.
For multi-location operators, the practical implication is that Oklahoma documentation needs to be tight enough to satisfy both local AHJs and state-level review. We serve Oklahoma City and Tulsa with Certified Technicians who clean from cooktop to rooftop, to bare metal, and provide service records that hold up to either review.
Louisiana’s Office of State Fire Marshal is one of the more active central enforcement bodies in our region. Code interpretations and guidance for NFPA 96 are published publicly, which is helpful — it gives operators a clear reference when local inspectors and state guidance appear to differ.
New Orleans and Shreveport, the two markets we serve in Louisiana, both fall under that central enforcement umbrella while still having their own local fire officials. Humidity and the prevalence of fried and high-volume Cajun, Creole, and seafood cooking also push many Louisiana kitchens toward the more frequent end of the NFPA 96 schedule. Quarterly service is common; monthly isn’t unusual for high-volume seafood and fry operations.
Louisiana’s Office of State Fire Marshal is one of the more active central enforcement bodies in our region. Code interpretations and guidance for NFPA 96 are published publicly, which is helpful — it gives operators a clear reference when local inspectors and state guidance appear to differ.
New Orleans and Shreveport, the two markets we serve in Louisiana, both fall under that central enforcement umbrella while still having their own local fire officials. Humidity and the prevalence of fried and high-volume Cajun, Creole, and seafood cooking also push many Louisiana kitchens toward the more frequent end of the NFPA 96 schedule. Quarterly service is common; monthly isn’t unusual for high-volume seafood and fry operations.
Arkansas enforces commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning through the state’s adopted fire prevention code, which incorporates NFPA 96. The Arkansas Fire Protection Division and local fire marshals share enforcement authority depending on jurisdiction.
NFPA 96’s owner-responsibility clause is the one to remember in Arkansas as much as anywhere else: the operator carries the compliance obligation unless a written transfer of responsibility exists. That’s a clause we see overlooked frequently in lease and management agreements, and it’s worth a review by your facilities team or counsel.
If you’re running kitchens in two, three, or all five of these states, the day-to-day reality is this: the underlying standard is the same, but the proof required to satisfy each AHJ is not. Three things make multi-state compliance manageable:
Standardized documentation across every location. Every service record should show the date, the scope of work, the technician’s certification, the areas cleaned, and any deficiencies noted. Different AHJs ask for these in different formats, but the underlying data is the same. Standardize the data, and reformatting it to the AHJ’s preference is a small task.
Cleaning frequency set to your kitchen, not your state. The NFPA 96 frequency table is volume- and fuel-based, not geographic. A 24-hour hospital kitchen in Tulsa and a 24-hour hospital kitchen in Dallas should be on the same schedule. State borders don’t change how fast grease accumulates.
One regional partner, when possible. We’re not suggesting this because it sounds good in a blog post — we’re suggesting it because we’ve watched multi-vendor portfolios produce inconsistent records and missed services. One Certified Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning provider working across your footprint means one set of documentation standards, one escalation path, and one team that knows your kitchens.
Our service footprint includes major Texas markets and surrounding states across the Southwest.
The compliance picture across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas is more consistent than it looks — and more demanding than it sometimes gets treated. NFPA 96 is the common floor. Local AHJs are the variable. Documentation is the proof.
Facilitec Southwest provides Certified Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning for commercial cooking establishments across all five states. Our Certified Technicians clean from cooktop to rooftop, to bare metal, following NFPA 96 guidelines for cleaning and inspection of grease accumulation. You get a grease-free, fire-safe facility — and the documentation to prove it to any inspector in any of the markets we serve.
If you operate kitchens across the Southwest and want a single partner who can keep your portfolio compliant and inspection-ready, we’d be glad to talk.
This guide is informational and reflects fire codes and NFPA 96 editions adopted as of May 2026. Code editions and local amendments change. Confirm specific requirements with the Authority Having Jurisdiction for each location.
Yes. NFPA 96 is incorporated into the adopted fire code in all five states, either directly by the state or through municipal adoption of the International Fire Code. The cleaning frequencies, scope, and documentation requirements are consistent across the region. What varies is the enforcing authority and any local amendments.
Under NFPA 96, the system owner is responsible for inspection, maintenance, and cleanliness unless that responsibility is formally transferred in writing. For multi-location operators, this means corporate facilities teams generally hold the obligation across the portfolio, even when local managers schedule the work.
NFPA 96 sets the frequency by cooking volume and fuel: monthly for solid-fuel and very high-volume kitchens, quarterly for high-volume operations like charbroiling, semiannually for moderate-volume sit-down restaurants and most hotel and hospital kitchens, and annually for low-volume operations.
A service record showing the date of cleaning, the scope of work, the technician’s certification, the areas cleaned, and any deficiencies noted. NFPA 96 requires these records be available for review by the AHJ. We provide standardized service documentation after every visit, formatted to satisfy state and local inspectors across the Southwest.
Yes. Penalties range from correction notices and re-inspections to fines and, in serious cases, temporary suspension of operations. More importantly, an uncleaned kitchen exhaust system is a leading cause of commercial kitchen fires — fires that destroy buildings, end businesses, and put employees and patrons at risk.
Yes. We’ve served commercial cooking establishments across the Southwest since 1986, with Certified Technicians providing kitchen exhaust cleaning, grease containment, surface cleaning, and maintenance programs across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Arkansas.
