# Los Angeles Parking Tickets - Every Citation Issued (`j0401/la-parking-tickets`) Actor

Every parking citation Los Angeles has issued (public open data, 25.8M tickets): violation code and description, fine, exact location with coordinates, issuing agency, and the vehicle as recorded (plate state, expiry, make, colour, body style). Filter by code, agency, location or date.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/j0401/la-parking-tickets.md
- **Developed by:** [Wenhao Yang](https://apify.com/j0401) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.03 / 1,000 la parking citation records

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?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Los Angeles Parking Tickets - Every Citation Issued

Every parking citation the City of Los Angeles has issued, straight from the
City's own citation register. **25.8 million tickets**, refreshed daily, from
the 1950s to today.

### Low cost

**From $0.00005 per record, down to $0.00003 at Gold.** Pay only for the
records you actually receive - the whole register stays queryable, you are
never billed for the scan behind it.

### What you get

One row per citation, keyed by ticket number and unique across the whole file:

- **What the violation was** - the Municipal Code section and its plain-language
  description, from `80.69BS NO PARK/STREET CLN` to `88.13B+ METER EXP.`
- **What it cost** - the fine in dollars
- **Where** - the street address as recorded, plus precise latitude/longitude
- **Who issued it** - the agency and beat, exactly as the City names it
  (`54 - DOT - HOLLYWOOD`, `56 - DOT - CENTRAL`, `LAX CURRENT`,
  `BUILDING AND SAFETY`, `LAPD SECURITY SERVICES`, ...)
- **When** - issue date and time
- **The vehicle, as the officer recorded it** - plate state, plate expiry,
  make, body style, colour

### Filter it

- **Violation code** - `violationCode="80.69BS"` for street-cleaning tickets
  (6.7M of them), `"88.13B"` for expired meters (4.4M), `"80.56E4"` for red
  zones (2.4M).
- **Description** - `violation="RED ZONE"`, `"METER EXP"`, `"PREFERENTIAL"`.
- **Agency and beat** - `agency="54 - DOT - HOLLYWOOD"`, `"LAX CURRENT"`. These
  are exact values, all upper case, as the City holds them.
- **Location** - `location="HOLLYWOOD BL"`.
- **Vehicle** - colour, body style, make, plate state.
- **Fine range** - e.g. tickets over $500.
- **Date range** and **last-N-days**.

### Example inputs

**One ticket** - `ticketNumber` is a substring match.

```json
{ "ticketNumber": "1124330955" }
```

**Street-cleaning tickets** - the Municipal Code section, by code.

```json
{ "violationCode": "80.69BS", "maxResults": 25 }
```

**The last month of meter tickets** - the plain-language description plus a recency window.

```json
{ "violation": "METER EXP", "recentDays": 30, "maxResults": 25 }
```

**Ticket volume by issuing unit** - `mode=aggregate` returns one count row per group.

```json
{ "mode": "aggregate", "groupBy": "agency" }
```

### Or roll it up

Set `mode=aggregate` and get a server-side count by **violation code**,
**agency**, **colour** or **body style**. Every group comes back - this mode is
not cut off by `maxResults`.

### Then answer real questions

- Which beats write the most tickets, and for what?
- How many street-cleaning tickets were issued citywide last month?
- Where do red-zone tickets cluster? (Latitude/longitude are on every row.)
- What does the City actually tow-and-ticket - plates from other states,
  commercial vans, motor homes?

### Example output

**One citation** - `ticketNumber=1124330955` returns the citation as recorded:

```json
{
 "platform": "la-parking-tickets",
 "source": "lacity-parking-citations",
 "mode": "rows",
 "groupKey": "",
 "groupCount": "",
 "groupBy": "",
 "ticketNumber": "1124330955",
 "issueDate": "2026-09-24T00:00:00.000",
 "issueTime": "2115",
 "agency": "WESTERN",
 "violationCode": "8069BS",
 "violation": "8069B NO PARK ST CLN",
 "fineAmount": "73",
 "location": "1066 GOWER ST",
 "route": "",
 "meterId": "",
 "markedTime": "0000",
 "plateState": "CA",
 "plateExpiry": "202603",
 "make": "HOND",
 "color": "",
 "bodyStyle": "PASSENGER CAR",
 "latitude": "34.0900084",
 "longitude": "-118.3221591",
 "sourceUpdatedAt": "2026-09-24"
}
```

**`mode=aggregate`, `groupBy=agency`** - one count row per issuing unit:

```
54 - DOT - HOLLYWOOD   6,013,648
56 - DOT - CENTRAL     5,526,937
51 - DOT - WESTERN     5,396,716
53 - DOT - VALLEY      4,435,031
55 - DOT - SOUTHERN    3,297,561
WESTERN                  583,230
```

### Notes on the data, from the source

- **Nothing dated after today is in scope.** A handful of clerical typos run to
  2034, so the upper bound is always today and a "newest first" page can never
  be led by a typo. (The lower end is left open - the handful of pre-1970 rows
  are those same typos pointing the other way, and they never head a page.)
- **There is no VIN in this data.** The source schema carries a `vin` column
  and all 25,852,545 rows are empty, so this actor does not offer it - the
  vehicle is described by plate state, expiry, make, body style and colour.
- **Plate expiry is a raw `YYYYMM` string**, and `0` means "not recorded"
  (1.8M rows). It is not a date.
- **Beats are split across prefixed and bare values.** `54 - DOT - HOLLYWOOD`
  and `HOLLYWOOD` are both in the data for the same beat; both are listed
  separately, as the City holds them.
- **`issue_time` is 24-hour military time as an integer** - `945` means 09:45.

# Actor input Schema

## `violationCode` (type: `string`):

Substring match on the Municipal Code section, e.g. '80.69BS' (no parking / street cleaning), '88.13B' (meter expired), '80.56E4' (red zone). 807 codes in total. Blank = any.

## `violation` (type: `string`):

Substring match on the plain-language violation text, e.g. 'RED ZONE', 'METER EXP', 'STREET CLN', 'PREFERENTIAL'. Blank = any.

## `agency` (type: `string`):

Exact issuing unit. The department's numbered beats carry a prefix ('54 - DOT - HOLLYWOOD') while the same beats also appear bare ('HOLLYWOOD'), so a beat can be split across two values - both are listed. 'UNASSIGNED' covers 247,803 tickets. Blank = any.

## `color` (type: `string`):

Exact colour as recorded by the officer. Blank = any.

## `bodyStyle` (type: `string`):

Exact body style, e.g. 'PASSENGER CAR' (22.9M), 'PICK-UP TRUCK', 'VAN', 'TRUCK'. Blank = any.

## `ticketNumber` (type: `string`):

Substring match on the citation number for a single-ticket lookup. Blank = any.

## `location` (type: `string`):

Substring match on the street address as recorded, e.g. 'HOLLYWOOD BL', 'VERMONT AV'. Blank = any.

## `make` (type: `string`):

Substring match on the vehicle make, e.g. 'TOYOTA', 'HONDA', 'FORD'. 4,902 distinct values (free text as typed by the officer). Blank = any.

## `plateState` (type: `string`):

Substring match on the plate's issuing state, e.g. 'CA' (24.1M), 'AZ', 'TX', 'NV'. 80 distinct values. Blank = any.

## `issueFrom` (type: `string`):

Earliest issue date, YYYY-MM-DD. Blank = any. The upper bound is always today: a handful of clerical typos run to 2034 and would otherwise head every 'newest first' page.

## `issueTo` (type: `string`):

Latest issue date, YYYY-MM-DD. Blank = any. Must not be in the future.

## `minFine` (type: `number`):

Smallest fine amount in dollars. Fines run from $0 to $1,100. Blank = no lower bound.

## `maxFine` (type: `number`):

Largest fine amount in dollars. Blank = no upper bound.

## `recentDays` (type: `integer`):

Only citations issued within the last N days. Ignored when 'Issued from' is set. 0 = off.

## `mode` (type: `string`):

rows = citations matching your filters (default). aggregate = one count row per group (see groupBy).

## `groupBy` (type: `string`):

Which dimension to aggregate over (mode=aggregate). Blank = violationCode. Every group is returned - aggregate mode is not cut off by maxResults. Vehicle make is deliberately absent: 4,902 free-text values is not a rollup.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Cap the number of records pushed in rows mode (0 = default 50; up to 2,000 per run). Each record is metered individually, so there is no per-run charge cap. Aggregate mode returns every group.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "violationCode": "",
  "violation": "",
  "agency": "",
  "color": "",
  "bodyStyle": "",
  "ticketNumber": "",
  "location": "",
  "make": "",
  "plateState": "",
  "issueFrom": "",
  "issueTo": "",
  "recentDays": 0,
  "mode": "rows",
  "groupBy": "",
  "maxResults": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `recordsUrl` (type: `string`):

LA parking citation records - as JSON

## `datasetUrl` (type: `string`):

No description

## `runUrl` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("j0401/la-parking-tickets").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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("j0401/la-parking-tickets").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 '{}' |
apify call j0401/la-parking-tickets --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,j0401/la-parking-tickets"
        }
    }
}
```

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/uihgvBGxWkDChfFeB/builds/sHOZLQOxYLZbgd0ri/openapi.json