What Are the APPA Levels of Cleanliness?

The five levels, side by side

APPA describes each level by what an inspector sees. The summary below follows those published descriptions; Level 1 is the highest standard and Level 5 the lowest.

Why Level 2 is the usual target

Many institutions aim for Level 2 in occupied space such as classrooms, offices and corridors, and hold restrooms, health rooms and food areas to the top two levels. Level 2 looks well kept to occupants while accepting that dust and fingerprints are noticeable on close inspection, which keeps staffing realistic.

Level 3 is often where budget cuts land without anyone choosing it: floors still get vacuumed and trash still gets emptied, but buildup appears in corners and smudges become obvious. Levels 4 and 5 are generally treated as unacceptable for occupied buildings, because sour trash containers and dirty fixtures become health and morale problems rather than appearance issues.

Writing APPA cleaning levels into a specification

A level only works in a contract if the specification explains how it will be applied and measured. Public agencies and districts that use levels well usually include these elements.

• The target level for each space type, not one level for the whole building
• APPA's level descriptions attached as an exhibit, so both sides read the same words
• A task and frequency schedule consistent with the target level
• An inspection method: who inspects, how rooms are sampled and how scores are averaged
• Periodic floor and carpet work, since floor appearance drives several criteria
• A staffing plan from each bidder showing how the target level will be reached

How levels connect to staffing and budget

The practical value of the levels is in budget conversations. APPA's staffing guidelines assign an area per custodian for each level, and that area grows sharply as the level drops. A facilities director can therefore show a board what a staffing cut will look like in plain terms: corridors moving from Level 2 to Level 3, for example, with the buildup and smudges that come with it.

The same logic works in reverse. If an agency wants Level 2 restrooms across a campus, the specification has to fund the labor that level requires, and bids that promise Level 2 with Level 3 staffing deserve close questions.

Limits of an appearance standard

APPA levels describe how a space looks, not whether surfaces are disinfected or microbially clean. A restroom can gleam and still carry pathogens on handles that were wiped with the wrong product or not left wet long enough.

For clinical rooms, food areas and labs, pair the level with written protocols for disinfectants, contact times and tools, and consider verification methods beyond visual inspection. Offices, government buildings and other private facilities can borrow the levels too, since they give any building a shared vocabulary for how clean is clean enough.

Specifications that name a level, and EBS

EBS brings public-sector experience in government and secure-facility operations. Its cleaning plans can be organized by area, frequency, service window and inspection standard, including the APPA level a specification names, and supervisors record eHub inspection results and corrective actions against that standard.