# Daily temperature log sheet for hot and cold holding: a printable template with corrective actions

*Guides · Mays Team · October 3, 2026*

![The Health Department Temperature Log that Mays exports, for the reach-in cooler at a test café's Riverside location on October 2, 2026, with the license number and one row every 4 hours showing the average and worst reading against the 33 to 41°F target, Pass on every row except 12:00 PM, marked Fail in red with a worst reading of 43.8°F, and an empty Corrective action column](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/blog__temperature-log-sheet-hot-cold-holding-printable__cover.4efc722c7c.png)

Most temperature logs fail in the same three ways: a column of identical 38s written at the end of the shift, a 46 with nothing next to it, and a sheet nobody signed. This post is a one-page daily sheet built to avoid all three.

Why logs matter, what inspectors look for and how often to check are in our [guide to food temperature logs](https://www.mays.app/blog/food-temperature-logs-new-cafe). Hot holding and cooling, the two steps cafés get wrong most, are in [hot-holding and cooling](https://www.mays.app/blog/hot-holding-cooling-food-safety-cafe). This post is just the sheet.

*This is general information. Your health department may ask for a particular form or more frequent checks; use theirs if they do.*

## The two numbers on the sheet

The [FDA Food Code](https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code-2022) says time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food *"shall be maintained"* *"At 57°C (135°F) or above"* when held hot (roasts cooked as the Code describes may be held at 130°F), or *"At 5°C (41°F) or less"* when held cold (§3-501.16(A)). The [2026 edition](https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code-2026) keeps both numbers.

The sheet also has a thermometer check because the Code asks for food thermometers that are *"accurate to ±2°F in the intended range of use"* when scaled in Fahrenheit (§4-203.11(B)) and *"calibrated in accordance with manufacturer's specifications as necessary to ensure their accuracy"* (§4-502.11(B)).

## How to fill it in

- **Probe the food, not the air,** for anything in a hot well, steam table or cold well. For a cooler, write the unit's air temperature *and* probe one TCS item from the warmest spot.
- **Write the real number at the real time.** If the 11 am check happened at 11:40, write 11:40.
- **Out of range? Act, then write the code** from the table below, and check again. A corrective action without a re-check is half done.
- **Initial every entry.** The person who probed it signs it.
- **The manager signs at close,** after reading the sheet, not just next to it.

## The sheet

Print one per location per day. The units and check times below are examples; change them to match your kitchen and your plan.

**Location:** ______________ **Date:** ______________ **Person in charge:** ______________

### Cold holding (41°F or below)

| Unit or item | Check 1, time | °F | Init. | Check 2, time | °F | Init. | Check 3, time | °F | Init. | Action code |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Walk-in cooler (air) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Walk-in: probe item (e.g. sliced turkey) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Reach-in (line) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Sandwich or salad cold well |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Pastry or grab-and-go case |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Milk fridge (bar) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

### Hot holding (135°F or above)

| Item | Check 1, time | °F | Init. | Check 2, time | °F | Init. | Check 3, time | °F | Init. | Action code |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Soup of the day |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Steam table: item 1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Steam table: item 2 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Breakfast hot hold (eggs, potatoes) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

### Freezers

| Unit | Opening °F | Init. | Closing °F | Init. | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Walk-in freezer |  |  |  |  |  |
| Reach-in freezer |  |  |  |  |  |

### Thermometer check (once a day)

| Thermometer | Method (as the manufacturer says) | Reading | Adjusted or replaced? | Init. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Probe 1 |  |  |  |  |
| Probe 2 |  |  |  |  |

### Corrective-action codes

| Code | What was done |
| --- | --- |
| R | Reheated to the required temperature, then back to hot holding (write the temperature reached) |
| C | Moved to a colder unit or put on ice; re-checked in 30 minutes |
| A | Adjusted the unit's thermostat; re-checked in 30 minutes |
| D | Discarded (write the item and quantity) |
| M | Maintenance called (write who and when) |
| O | Other: explain in the notes |

**Notes:** ______________________________________________

**Manager sign-off at close:** I've read this sheet and every out-of-range entry has an action. Name ______________ Signature ______________

## A filled-in row, and a bad one

Made-up examples:

| Unit or item | Time | °F | Init. | Action code |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Soup of the day | 11:10 | 148 | JM |  |
| Soup of the day | 2:15 | 128 | AG | R, reheated to 168°F at 2:30, back in the well |
| Reach-in (line) | 2:05 | 44 | AG | C, door propped during the delivery; 39°F at 2:35 |

The 128 has an action and a second number. That's what an inspector looks for. The bad version is the same 128 with no code, or a 44 crossed out and replaced with 40.

Two cases need their own sheet. Food you hold using time instead of temperature (the Food Code's *time as a public health control*, §3-501.19) is tracked by the time it left temperature control and when it must be discarded, not by readings. And cooling needs a cooling log with the 2-hour and 6-hour checkpoints, which our [hot-holding and cooling post](https://www.mays.app/blog/hot-holding-cooling-food-safety-cafe) includes. The pre-service [line check template](https://www.mays.app/blog/kitchen-line-check-template) checks the same units station by station, with pars and labels too.

## Keep them

File the sheets by week and keep them as long as your health department asks; when in doubt, keep them at least until your next inspection after the date. Put a red tab on any day with a discard, so you can find it if a guest calls about an illness.

## Where Mays fits

- **Coolers that log themselves.** With Govee thermometers connected, Mays reads each sensor about every five minutes and creates a task at the location when a unit stays out of range past its alert delay. See [Temperature thresholds and alerts](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/temperature-alerts).
- **The printed log.** A thermometer's page has a **Health-department log export** for any dates: one row per hour, every 4 hours or every reading, with the location's license number, the target, the average and worst reading and a Pass or Fail on each row, as a PDF or CSV (the image at the top of this post). The **Corrective action** column prints empty, so write the action on the printout or keep the completed alert task as the record. See [Health-department temperature logs](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/temperature-log-export).
- **Probe checks on the phone.** Hot-holding items and probe checks don't come from a sensor. Build a custom form under **Tasks → Types** with a **Temperature** field per item; give each one a pass range so an out-of-range number is flagged, and add it to your opening and mid-shift checklists. Each submission lands in **Tasks → Data**, with **Export CSV**. See [Building custom forms](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types) and [Exporting task data](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/task-data-export).
- **A nudge on a bad number.** A **Task Form Field Threshold** alert under **Insights → Alerts & Reports** notifies the people you pick when a temperature on the form is at or below, or at or above, your limit. See [Alerts and scheduled reports](https://www.mays.app/help/reports-insights/alerts-and-scheduled-reports).

What Mays doesn't do: probe readings from forms aren't in the thermometer's PDF log, and the log's authority line names Florida's FDACS rule even for restaurants. Check with your inspector which record they want.

## One sheet, every day, signed

A temperature log isn't paperwork for the inspector. It's how the person in charge sees that the soup dropped to 128 at 2:15 and someone fixed it.

[**Start your free trial**](https://go.mays.app/register): 30 days, every module, no card needed. Or [book a walkthrough](https://www.mays.app/book?from=blog-temperature-log-sheet-hot-cold-holding-printable) and we'll turn this sheet into a form on your team's phones.

## Related help articles

- Food safety & signage: [Health-department temperature logs](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/temperature-log-export) — Download a thermometer's temperature log as a PDF or CSV for any dates, with your license number, the safe range and a pass or fail on every row, ready to show an inspector.
- Food safety & signage: [Temperature thresholds and alerts](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/temperature-alerts) — Set a safe range and an alert delay for each thermometer. When a unit stays out of range, Mays creates a task at that location and notifies whoever is on shift.
- Food safety & signage: [Setting up Govee thermometers](https://www.mays.app/help/food-safety-devices/connect-govee-thermometers) — Connect your Govee Wi-Fi thermometers with an API key, then give each one a location. Mays records every sensor's temperature every five minutes and watches it around the clock.
- Tasks & checklists: [Building custom forms (Task Types)](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types) — Build your own task forms, like a cash count, a temperature log or a waste log, under Tasks → Types. Staff fill them in the app, and every answer lands in Task Data, ready to export.
- Tasks & checklists: [Task Data: viewing and exporting form answers](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/task-data-export) — Tasks → Data lists every answer submitted on a custom form, like a cash count or temperature log, one row per submission, and downloads them as a CSV file.
- Reports & insights: [Alerts and scheduled reports](https://www.mays.app/help/reports-insights/alerts-and-scheduled-reports) — Get a notification when labor runs hot, a vendor raises a price or a form reading is out of range, and have a labor, prime cost or vendor spend summary emailed every week or month.

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/blog/temperature-log-sheet-hot-cold-holding-printable