# LA County Restaurant Inspection Scraper (`parseforge/la-restaurant-inspections-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes LA County restaurant inspection records by city or grade and returns each one as a flat row with facility name, address, grade, and date.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/la-restaurant-inspections-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 86.7% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $19.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### LA County Restaurant Inspection Scraper

**Scrape LA County restaurant inspection grades and violations, up to a million per run.** Every record includes the facility name, address, city, grade, and inspection date. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

LA County publishes restaurant inspection results on its public health website, but there is no bulk download and the search interface is slow for research. This Actor reads the public inspection records directly, filtered by city or grade, and returns each match in one fixed schema.

| Who uses it | What they scrape LA County Restaurant Inspections for |
|---|---|
| Food safety consultants | Which restaurants in a city have B or C grades and need help improving |
| Restaurant owners | How their own inspection grade compares to competitors in the same city |
| Journalists | Which neighborhoods have the most low-grade restaurants for a story |
| App developers | A clean dataset of inspection grades to power a restaurant finder |

### What it does

This Actor collects LA County restaurant inspection records by city or grade, and returns each one as a flat row.

- 🏙️ **City filter:** narrow results to one city, like Los Angeles or Pasadena.
- 🏅 **Grade filter:** return only A, B, or C grades, or leave blank for all.
- 🔢 **Max items:** cap the run from 1 to 1,000,000 inspections.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with LA County Restaurant Inspections data

**📊 Monitor a city's grades.**

A food safety consultant runs the Actor weekly for Los Angeles and flags every new B or C grade to offer training.

**📈 Compare your restaurant.**

A restaurant owner pulls all grades in Pasadena to see how their A grade stacks up against nearby competitors.

**🗞️ Investigate neighborhoods.**

A journalist collects all C grades in the county to map which areas have the most low-scoring restaurants.

**📱 Build a restaurant app.**

A developer scrapes the full county dataset once, then filters by city to power a local dining guide.

### Why choose this scraper

| | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API key** | Reads the public inspection site directly, no registration or OAuth. |
| **Fixed schema** | Every record has the same fields, so you can merge runs without cleaning. |
| **Bulk export** | Download as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for analysis or upload to your own tools. |

### How it compares

No other Store actor targets LA County Restaurant Inspections the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

| | LA County Restaurant Inspection Scraper | Build it in-house | By hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Run it now, zero config | Days of engineering | None, but hours per pull |
| When LA County Restaurant Inspections changes | Maintained for you | You fix it | You re-learn the page |
| Proxies, retries, anti-bot | Built in | Your problem | Browser only |
| Output | Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export | Whatever you build | Copy-paste |
| Cost | Pay per result | Engineering time | Analyst hours |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor with an optional city and grade, and set a maximum number of inspections per run. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.021 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $2.10 |
| 1,000 results | $21.00 |
| 10,000 results | $210.00 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [LA County Restaurant Inspection Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/la-restaurant-inspections-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to LA County Restaurant Inspections through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/la-restaurant-inspections-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check the city spelling against the LA County inspection site. If you set a grade, try leaving it blank to see if any records exist for that city.

**Why did the run stop before my max items?**

The Actor stops when it has collected the number you set, or when there are no more matching inspections. Lower the max or remove filters to get more.

**Why is the city filter not working?**

The city must match the name used by LA County, such as 'Los Angeles' not 'LA'. Try a partial name or check the site's city list.

**Why are some grades missing?**

Not every inspection has a grade, especially recent ones. The Actor returns what is published, so some rows may have an empty grade.

**Can I get more than 1,000,000 records?**

No, the maximum is 1,000,000 per run. If you need more, split by city or run multiple times with different filters.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What data does this Actor return? | Each row includes the facility name, street address, city, grade, and inspection date, as shown on the LA County public health site. |
| Can I filter by city? | Yes, enter a city name in the City field to return only inspections from that city. |
| Can I filter by grade? | Yes, choose A, B, or C from the Grade dropdown, or leave it blank to get all grades. |
| How many inspections can I get in one run? | Set the Maximum inspections field from 1 to 1,000,000. The Actor stops after that many records. |
| Do I need an API key or login? | No, the Actor reads the public inspection website directly, so no registration is required. |
| What export formats are supported? | You can download the results as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify dataset. |
| Is the data updated? | The Actor scrapes the live LA County site each time you run it, so you get the latest published inspections. |
| Can I schedule this Actor? | Yes, use Apify's scheduler to run it daily, weekly, or monthly and track changes over time. |
| Does it include violation details? | The Actor returns the grade and inspection date, but not the full violation text. Check the sample output for exact fields. |
| What if I get no results? | Make sure the city name is spelled exactly as it appears on the LA County site, and try leaving the grade blank. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by County of Los Angeles Public Health. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many inspections to collect per run.

## `city` (type: `string`):

City

## `grade` (type: `string`):

Grade

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "city": "",
  "grade": ""
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Scraped LA County Restaurant Inspection Grades Scraper records

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/la-restaurant-inspections-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/la-restaurant-inspections-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/la-restaurant-inspections-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/la-restaurant-inspections-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/u3zPomHcCdEelPAdx/builds/XWcSlG2gaotoFzbF3/openapi.json