diff --git a/app/controllers/api/v0/health_checks_controller.rb b/app/controllers/api/v0/health_checks_controller.rb
index 2b5b72a06..d3bb6c36a 100644
--- a/app/controllers/api/v0/health_checks_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/api/v0/health_checks_controller.rb
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ module Api
       private
 
       def authenticate_with_token
+        return if request.local?
+
         key = request.headers["health-check-token"]
 
         return if key == SiteConfig.health_check_token
diff --git a/spec/requests/api/v0/health_checks_spec.rb b/spec/requests/api/v0/health_checks_spec.rb
index 7b83c7924..bfe2ccf3b 100644
--- a/spec/requests/api/v0/health_checks_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/requests/api/v0/health_checks_spec.rb
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ RSpec.describe "HealthCheck", type: :request do
 
   context "without a token" do
     it "returns an unauthorized request" do
+      allow_any_instance_of(ActionDispatch::Request).to receive(:remote_addr).and_return("0.0.0.0") # rubocop:disable RSpec/AnyInstance
       get app_api_health_checks_path
       expect(response.status).to eq(401)
     end