Templates
Restaurant preventive maintenance plan: the Excel template, with what is compulsory and what is recommended
In a restaurant, what breaks at nine on a Saturday almost never gives notice: the hood was drawing less, the cold room was making a new noise, the extinguisher had gone a year without a service. The preventive plan is the list of what gets checked before it fails, plus the inspections the law puts a date on. Here it is in Excel, with the tasks written in and the rule behind each one.
The short answer
A restaurant preventive maintenance plan is the list of checks done before something fails, with how often, who and the next due date. It has two parts. The compulsory part has a date and a rule: an electrical inspection every five years, extinguishers every three months and every year, Legionella control of the hot water, and heating, cooling and gas if you have them. The recommended part follows the manufacturer and use: hood filters, ductwork, fryers, cold-room condensers and the dishwasher. The template has both, kept apart.
The columns of the plan
| Column | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Installation or equipment | What is checked: one row per task, even if the equipment repeats. |
| Task | Exactly what is done, so someone else can do it. |
| How often | The frequency: the rule's if it is compulsory, the manufacturer's if not. |
| Who | Own staff, maintenance company or inspection body. |
| Compulsory or recommended | Separates what a rule requires from good practice. |
| Rule | The article that requires it: what you show at an inspection. |
| Last done | The date it was last done. |
| Next due | When it is due again: the column to look at every week. |
| Done by and notes | Who did it, the report or certificate and anything found. |
These are the columns of the Excel file, in the same order.
The tasks already written in
The compulsory ones are those in restaurant regulations, with the same article: the low-voltage inspection, fire equipment, Legionella, RITE and HACCP. The recommended ones are not required by any of those rules: their frequency is a guide.
| Installation or equipment | Task | How often | Who | Compulsory or recommended | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical installation | Periodic inspection by an inspection body | Every 5 years | Inspection body (OCA) | Compulsory | REBT, ITC-BT-05 (4.2) and ITC-BT-28 |
| Emergency lighting | Cut the power and check it comes on | Every month | Own staff | Recommended | Having it: ITC-BT-28 (2.3); the test, a guide |
| Extinguishers and fire equipment | In place, accessible, sealed and with pressure in the operating zone | Every 3 months | The holder | Compulsory | RD 513/2017, annex II |
| Extinguishers and fire equipment | Servicing with a written report | Every year | Maintenance company | Compulsory | RD 513/2017, Art. 21 and annex II |
| Extinguishers | Level C test | Every 5 years | Maintenance company | Compulsory | RD 513/2017, annex II |
| Hot water (Legionella) | Check the temperature | Daily | Own staff | Compulsory | RD 487/2022, annex IV |
| Hot water (Legionella) | Cleaning and disinfection | Every year | Own staff or a company | Compulsory | RD 487/2022, annex IV |
| Terrace misting units (if any) | Check and clean the nozzles | Every month | Own staff | Compulsory | RD 487/2022, annex V |
| Terrace misting units (if any) | Legionella test | Every 6 months | Laboratory | Compulsory | RD 487/2022, annex V |
| Heating and cooling (up to 70 kW) | Servicing with a log | Every 1 or 2 years, per table 3.1 | Maintenance company | Compulsory | RD 1027/2007 (RITE), IT 3.3 |
| Kitchen gas (if any) | Periodic check of the installation | Every 5 years | Qualified gas installer or distributor | Compulsory | RD 919/2006, Art. 7; ITC-ICG 07 |
| Cold rooms and fridges | Record the temperature | Set by your HACCP | Own staff | Compulsory | Regulation (EC) 852/2004, Art. 5 |
| Pest control | Check as per your procedure | Set by your procedure | Own staff; professional biocides, qualified staff | Compulsory | Regulation (EC) 852/2004, annex II; RD 830/2010 |
| Extractor hood: filters | Remove and degrease the filters | Every week, depending on use | Own staff | Recommended | None of those cited: a guide |
| Extractor hood: ductwork | Duct cleaning | Depending on use and manufacturer | Specialist company | Recommended | None of those cited: a guide |
| Fryers | Change the oil and clean the vat | Depending on use | Own staff | Recommended | None of those cited: a guide |
| Cold rooms and fridges | Clean the condenser, check seals and drain | As per manufacturer | Own staff or refrigeration firm | Recommended | None of those cited: a guide |
| Dishwasher | Descale, clean arms and filters | As per manufacturer | Own staff | Recommended | None of those cited: a guide |
Spanish national rules read in the BOE on 19 Oct 2026. Your autonomous community and your council may require more.
How to use it so no date slips by
- First, remove what you do not have: no mains gas or cylinders, delete the gas row; no terrace with misting units, delete its two rows. Then add your own equipment: the combi oven, the ice machine, the freezer room.
- Fill in «Last done» with the date on the latest report or certificate, not from memory. If the paper cannot be found, the check does not count.
- «Next due» is the column that rules. Every Monday, sort by it: whatever falls this month, call the right company today, because contractors have diaries too.
- Keep the plan and the paperwork together: the fire contractor's report is kept for five years and it is the first thing shown at an inspection.
- Adjust the recommended tasks to use: a fryer working twelve hours a day does not keep the pace of one in a bar that fries at lunchtime.
Worth knowing
A spreadsheet plan does not fail in its rows, it fails in the calendar: one person keeps the sheet, and the date slips the month that person is on holiday or moves to another site. The contractor comes when called; the one who needs to know it is due is the restaurant.
Preventive, corrective and the fault log
Preventive maintenance is planned: it has a date even if nothing has failed. Corrective means fixing what has already broken, and it comes in as a report: the cold room is not cooling, the dishwasher is not draining, the kitchen breaker trips. They are two separate records. This plan is the first; the second is a maintenance ticket with the time reported, who takes it and when it is fixed. A good preventive plan makes the second one shorter, but it never makes it go away.
Frequently asked questions
What is a restaurant preventive maintenance plan?
The list of checks done before something fails, with how often, who and the next due date: the compulsory ones (electrics, extinguishers, Legionella, heating and cooling, gas) and the ones recommended by use (hood, fryers, cold rooms, dishwasher).
Is a preventive maintenance plan compulsory for a restaurant in Spain?
No national rule asks for a document with that name. What is compulsory, with its date and its report, is the electrical inspection every five years, extinguisher servicing, Legionella control of the hot water and, if you have them, heating, cooling and gas. HACCP also requires procedures for cleaning, temperatures and pests. The plan is how none of them gets missed.
How often should a restaurant's extractor hood be cleaned?
None of the national rules cited on this page sets a frequency. The template suggests degreasing the filters every week and the ductwork according to use and the manufacturer. If your insurer or your council asks for something specific, that comes first.
Which inspections are compulsory for a commercial kitchen in Spain?
Those for the premises: an electrical inspection every five years by an inspection body, extinguishers every three months (the holder) and every year (the contractor), Legionella control of the hot water, heating and cooling under RITE, and gas every five years if present. And the hygiene ones: HACCP with temperatures, cleaning and pests, with no frequency set by law.
What is the difference between preventive and corrective maintenance?
Preventive work has a date and is done before something fails. Corrective work fixes what has already broken and starts with a report. A restaurant needs both records: the plan and the fault log.