Use GOC Optician & Optometrist Register Scraper with Python

Search the General Optical Council's Specialist Register (str.optical.org) for UK optometrists, dispensing opticians, students and optical businesses - by name, exact GOC number, specialty, company or postcode radius, with practice addresses and FTP decision documents.

1. Choose the data you need

Review the published README for supported collection modes, examples, and limits. The recipe below uses the current published input definition.

2. Prepare a source-based input

This JSON contains published prefills and required-field defaults. Review every value for your task before running it; it is not a promise of successful collection.

{
  "addresses": [],
  "companyNames": [],
  "fetchDetails": false,
  "forename": "",
  "gocNumbers": [
    "01-12294"
  ],
  "maxDetailedItems": 1,
  "maxItems": 1,
  "mode": "byGocNumber",
  "postcode": "",
  "radiusMiles": 50,
  "registerType": "",
  "sortBy": "",
  "soundsLikeSurname": false,
  "speciality": "",
  "surnames": []
}

Download input.example.json and save your reviewed copy as input.json.

3. Start an Actor run

Set APIFY_TOKEN in your environment. Python 3.10 or newer is sufficient; this recipe uses no third-party packages.

Execution may incur charges. Review current pricing on Apify. The request asks for a 120-second timeout and a charge limit; these settings are subject to Apify’s pricing and do not guarantee an all-inclusive spending cap.

import json
import os
import urllib.request

# Save the schema-derived example as input.json; review and edit it first.
with open("input.json", encoding="utf-8") as stream:
    actor_input = json.load(stream)

token = os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"]
request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/nM2vtMcH1bZsKtNf3/runs?timeout=120&maxTotalChargeUsd=0.50",
    data=json.dumps(actor_input).encode("utf-8"),
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + token, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
    method="POST",
)
# This starts a potentially billable run. Do not automatically retry this POST.
with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=40) as response:
    run = json.load(response)["data"]
print("Run ID:", run["id"])
print("Status:", run["status"])
# Inspect and download results in Apify Console once the run succeeds.

4. Inspect the actual results

Open the run in Apify Console and wait for a successful completion. Use the published output schema to locate results and the dataset schema to understand declared views. Missing or optional record fields must not be treated as guaranteed values.

Registrants and optical businesses from the General Optical Council's public Specialist Register — GOC number, name or company, register type, status, registration date, specialties, qualifications, town, every practice address and postcode, FTP decision documents, and source URL.

Questions before you run

Generated from source build UvNLj8gOebSn7KfpY and its README and schemas. Source changes regenerate this guide; no third-party editorial claims are inferred.