Any Los Angeles food operation that cooks and discharges to sewer generally needs a grease interceptor, including restaurants, ghost kitchens, and commissary-based operations.
Need service support now? Compare grease trap cleaning and grease interceptor pumping options before requesting service.
Yes. Ghost kitchens are treated as food service establishments when they cook and discharge wastewater to sewer.
Food trucks rely on licensed commissaries, and those commissaries must meet grease interceptor requirements.
LACDPH Environmental Health and local sanitation authorities determine requirements based on your operation and discharge profile.
Restaurants and commercial kitchens that generate fats, oils, and grease (FOG) may need a grease trap or grease interceptor depending on local requirements, kitchen fixtures, and sewer connection setup.
This page is for general informational purposes and is not legal or official compliance advice.
Not sure about your service schedule? See how often grease trap service is required based on your kitchen type.
Request service from LA Restaurant Services.
Many Los Angeles food operations that prepare food and discharge to the sanitary sewer may need grease traps or interceptors. In practice, this often includes restaurants, commercial kitchens, cafes, bars, hotels, ghost kitchens, and shared kitchen facilities.
Final requirements depend on your kitchen setup, fixture counts, and local agency interpretation. Confirm your classification with your district office, then align service scheduling to protect operations.
Need help translating requirements into a service plan? LA Restaurant Services provides grease trap cleaning, grease interceptor pumping, and restaurant waste services for commercial kitchens across Los Angeles and Southern California. (Not sure about the difference between a trap and an interceptor? Read our guide.) Want to know LA FOG program requirements? See our compliance overview.
Restaurants that cook food and discharge wash water into the sanitary sewer commonly need grease management equipment. This often includes sit-down restaurants, quick-service locations, bars with kitchens, and hotel dining operations.
K-12 schools, college dining halls, hospital cafeterias, and similar institutional kitchens are commonly treated as food service operations that need properly sized grease control systems.
Food trucks do not usually connect directly to sewer lines, but they often rely on commissaries that may need compliant grease management systems. It is best to verify your commissary setup with your local authority.
Ghost kitchens and delivery-only operations can produce the same FOG load as traditional restaurants, so they may need grease traps or interceptors based on kitchen activity and plumbing setup.
Catering operations that prep at fixed facilities or commissaries may need grease control equipment depending on discharge points and local requirements.
Some low-FOG concepts may have different requirements, while locations with food prep or blending may still need grease control. Confirm your specific setup with your local Environmental Health district office.
Watch for operational signs that service may be due:
If you're experiencing recurring backups or slow drains, learn what happens when service is skipped and how often you may need scheduled maintenance.
If backups are recurring, pair grease trap cleaning with commercial hydro jetting to clear downstream buildup.
Smaller indoor systems are often called grease traps, while larger exterior systems are commonly referred to as interceptors. Both are built to capture FOG before it reaches sewer lines.
If you are unsure which system applies to your site, compare options in our grease trap vs interceptor guide, then request interceptor pumping service for your kitchen profile.
Consistent scheduling helps reduce emergency downtime, protects kitchen throughput, and keeps service records organized for internal operations.
Teams managing multiple vendors can simplify planning by coordinating through restaurant waste services with aligned maintenance windows.
Request service when you are onboarding a new kitchen, seeing repeat drain issues, or adjusting maintenance frequency after volume changes.
For active issues, request grease trap cleaning or interceptor pumping with your site details.
To get a faster quote, prepare:
Any new construction permit for a commercial kitchen automatically triggers the grease interceptor requirement. If you are renovating an existing space and the work touches plumbing, the permit review process will typically require you to bring the interceptor up to current code sizing standards — even if the original kitchen had a small under-sink trap that was grandfathered in.
Sizing matters. LACDPH and the local sanitation district use a formula based on your kitchen's fixture units, cooking equipment, and estimated dishwasher throughput to determine the minimum interceptor capacity. Undersized interceptors do not pass inspection and will not protect you from enforcement.
Request service from LA Restaurant Services.