# Building Permits Scraper — Construction Leads (`4l3c/building-permits-scraper`) Actor Fresh building permit data from 11 verified city & county open-data APIs: Chicago, NYC, LA, Austin, SF, Seattle, Miami, Miami-Dade, Maricopa, New Orleans, Philadelphia. Roofing, solar, HVAC & remodeling leads with contractor and valuation data. Reliable government sources, no proxies, no breakage. - **URL**: https://apify.com/4l3c/building-permits-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Alec](https://apify.com/4l3c) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation, Real estate, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $30.00 / 1,000 result items This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use 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 **Get fresh building permit data from 15 major US cities and counties — straight from verified government open-data APIs.** Building Permits Scraper turns public permit records into construction leads for **roofing, solar, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and remodeling contractors**, plus clean structured data for analysts, PropTech builders, and real-estate investors. No proxies, no brittle HTML scraping, no fake coverage claims. Every city in this Actor is a government-published API that was individually verified, field-mapped, and documented below — so runs don't silently break the way HTML scrapers do. ### What does Building Permits Scraper do? It pulls recently issued building permits — permit number, type, status, issue date, address, coordinates, valuation, contractor, and owner — filtered by city, date range, trade, and minimum project value. Run it on demand, on a schedule, or through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2), and export to JSON, CSV, or Excel, or push results to a webhook, Google Sheets, or your CRM via Apify integrations. ### Why use building permit data for contractor leads? A building permit is a homeowner or business **publicly announcing a funded project**. Permit-based prospecting is how lead services charging $96–600/month work under the hood: - **Roofers / solar installers**: a reroof or PV permit identifies the exact address and (in most cities) the project value, the day it's approved. - **HVAC / electrical / plumbing**: mechanical and service-upgrade permits flag active job sites that need follow-on trades. - **Remodelers / GCs**: addition and alteration permits show who is investing in their property. - **Suppliers and lenders**: permit valuations are a direct demand signal by ZIP code. One closed job pays for years of runs at $0.03 per permit. ### Covered cities and what each one publishes Coverage is honest and verified — these 15 sources, not "1,000+ cities". Each city's government API publishes different fields: | City | Valuation | Contractor name | Contractor phone | Owner name | |---|---|---|---|---| | Chicago, IL | ✅ | ✅ | — | ✅ | | New York City, NY | ✅ | ✅ | — | ✅ | | Austin, TX | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ (applicant) | | San Francisco, CA | ✅ | — | — | — | | Seattle, WA | ✅ | ✅ | — | — | | Los Angeles, CA | ✅ | — | — | — | | New Orleans, LA | ✅ | ✅ | — | ✅ | | Maricopa County, AZ | — | — | — | — | | Miami-Dade County, FL | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | Miami (city), FL | ✅ | ✅ | — | — | | Philadelphia, PA | — | ✅ | — | ✅ | | Mesa, AZ | ✅ | — | — | — | | Nashville, TN | ✅ | ✅ | — | — | | Fort Worth, TX | ✅ | — | — | ✅ | | San Antonio, TX | rare | ✅ (primary contact) | — | — | All cities always include: permit number, permit type, status, issue date, address, coordinates (where published), and work description. Mesa note: the city publishes application (opened) dates rather than issue dates, with a status column showing where each permit stands. ### How to get fresh roofing, solar, or HVAC leads every morning 1. Set **Cities** to your service area and **Trade filter** to your trade (e.g. *Roofing*). 2. Turn on **Only new results** — the Actor remembers the newest permit per city and returns only newer ones next time. 3. **Schedule** the Actor daily in the Apify Console. 4. Add an **integration** (webhook, email, Google Sheets, Slack) so each morning's new permits land where you work. That's a self-updating lead feed for a few cents a day. ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | `cities` | array | chicago, austin, miami-dade | Any of the 15 covered cities | | `dateFrom` / `dateTo` | string | last 7 days | Issue-date window, `YYYY-MM-DD` | | `tradeFilter` | enum | `any` | roofing / solar / hvac / electrical / plumbing / remodel | | `permitTypes` | array | `[]` | Extra keywords matched against type + description | | `minValuation` | integer | 0 | Drops permits below this value (and cities that don't publish valuations) | | `onlyNewResults` | boolean | false | Watermark mode for scheduled runs | | `maxItems` | integer | 0 | Hard cap on results (cost control) | | `socrataAppToken` | string | — | Optional free token raises rate limits | ```json { "cities": ["miami-dade", "austin"], "tradeFilter": "roofing", "onlyNewResults": true } ```` ### Output One JSON object per permit. Download as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML, or read via API. ```json { "city": "miami-dade", "permit_number": "2026050634", "permit_type": "BLDG ENT REPLACEMENT", "status": null, "issue_date": "2026-06-08T00:00:00", "address": "12035 SW 18 ST MIAMI FL", "latitude": 25.7479, "longitude": -80.3893, "valuation": 600, "contractor_name": "D Y D CONSTRUCTION CORP", "contractor_phone": "(305)970-3553", "owner_name": "GISELA HERNANDEZ", "description": "DOOR", "source_url": "https://gis-mdc.opendata.arcgis.com/" } ``` ### How much does building permit data cost? **$0.03 per permit.** A targeted daily run (one city, one trade) typically returns 5–50 permits — pennies per day for leads that lead services resell at $96–149/month. Use `maxItems` to cap any run's spend. ### Tips - **Trade filter + minValuation** is the highest-signal combo: `roofing` + `minValuation: 10000` returns funded reroofs, not repairs. - Austin and Miami-Dade publish **contractor phone numbers** — useful for B2B outreach (suppliers, subs) as well as homeowner-side leads. - Los Angeles has a native **solar flag**, so `tradeFilter: "solar"` is exact there, not keyword-based. - Miami (city) permits also appear in Miami-Dade county data; the Actor dedupes automatically when both are selected. ### FAQ **Is this legal?** Yes. The Actor reads public records from official government open-data APIs published for exactly this purpose. No scraping of private sites, no PII beyond the public record. **Why only 15 cities?** Because these are verified working. Competing tools claim huge coverage and fail at run time; this Actor's promise is that every listed city returns real data. More cities are added as their open-data feeds are verified — request one in the Issues tab. **A city returned nothing?** Check the date window (some cities publish with a 1–3 day lag), and note that `minValuation` drops cities that don't publish valuations (Maricopa, Philadelphia). **Found a problem?** Open an issue in the Issues tab — reliability reports are acted on quickly. More docs and use cases: [apify.alecrodriguez.net/building-permits](https://apify.alecrodriguez.net/building-permits) STATUS: VERIFIED — built green (tsc+30 tests+lint), local smoke all 11 cities, cloud-verified 3x (Socrata run d6oBV2cJaTddQPeDA, ArcGIS run Seg1eUxV7dhDtXhr9, Carto run #3) on 2026-06-10. # Actor input Schema ## `cities` (type: `array`): Cities/counties to pull permits from. Each is a verified government open-data API. ## `dateFrom` (type: `string`): Earliest permit issue date to include. Leave empty for 7 days ago. ## `dateTo` (type: `string`): Latest permit issue date to include. Leave empty for today. ## `tradeFilter` (type: `string`): Only keep permits matching a trade (matched against permit type + work description; Los Angeles also uses its native solar flag). ## `permitTypes` (type: `array`): Optional extra keywords — keep a permit if ANY keyword appears in its type or description (case-insensitive). Example: "demolition", "pool". ## `minValuation` (type: `integer`): Only keep permits with reported valuation at or above this amount. 0 = no filter. Note: some cities don't publish valuations (see README coverage table) — this filter drops their records. ## `onlyNewResults` (type: `boolean`): Remember the newest permit seen per city and only return newer ones on the next run. Turn this on + schedule the Actor daily for a fresh-leads feed. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Stop after this many permits (controls your cost). 0 = unlimited. ## `socrataAppToken` (type: `string`): Free token from any Socrata site (e.g. data.cityofchicago.org) raises rate limits for the 7 Socrata-backed cities. Works fine without one for normal volumes. ## Actor input object example ```json { "cities": [ "chicago", "austin", "miami-dade" ], "dateFrom": "", "dateTo": "", "tradeFilter": "any", "permitTypes": [], "minValuation": 0, "onlyNewResults": false, "maxItems": 0 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "cities": [ "chicago", "austin", "miami-dade" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("4l3c/building-permits-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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "cities": [ "chicago", "austin", "miami-dade", ] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("4l3c/building-permits-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "cities": [ "chicago", "austin", "miami-dade" ] }' | apify call 4l3c/building-permits-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=4l3c/building-permits-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Building Permits Scraper — Construction Leads", "description": "Fresh building permit data from 11 verified city & county open-data APIs: Chicago, NYC, LA, Austin, SF, Seattle, Miami, Miami-Dade, Maricopa, New Orleans, Philadelphia. Roofing, solar, HVAC & remodeling leads with contractor and valuation data. Reliable government sources, no proxies, no breakage.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "k3AoNVDDcb1yccEvI" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/4l3c~building-permits-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-4l3c-building-permits-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/4l3c~building-permits-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-4l3c-building-permits-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/4l3c~building-permits-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-4l3c-building-permits-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "cities": { "title": "Cities", "type": "array", "description": "Cities/counties to pull permits from. Each is a verified government open-data API.", "items": { "type": "string", "enum": [ "chicago", "new-york", "austin", "san-francisco", "seattle", "los-angeles", "new-orleans", "maricopa-county", "miami-dade", "miami", "philadelphia", "mesa", "nashville", "fort-worth", "san-antonio" ], "enumTitles": [ "Chicago, IL", "New York City, NY", "Austin, TX (has contractor phone)", "San Francisco, CA", "Seattle, WA", "Los Angeles, CA (has solar flag)", "New Orleans, LA", "Maricopa County, AZ", "Miami-Dade County, FL (has contractor phone + license)", "Miami (city), FL", "Philadelphia, PA", "Mesa, AZ", "Nashville, TN", "Fort Worth, TX", "San Antonio, TX" ] }, "default": [ "chicago", "austin", "miami-dade" ] }, "dateFrom": { "title": "Issued from (YYYY-MM-DD)", "type": "string", "description": "Earliest permit issue date to include. Leave empty for 7 days ago.", "default": "" }, "dateTo": { "title": "Issued to (YYYY-MM-DD)", "type": "string", "description": "Latest permit issue date to include. Leave empty for today.", "default": "" }, "tradeFilter": { "title": "Trade filter", "enum": [ "any", "roofing", "solar", "hvac", "electrical", "plumbing", "remodel" ], "type": "string", "description": "Only keep permits matching a trade (matched against permit type + work description; Los Angeles also uses its native solar flag).", "default": "any" }, "permitTypes": { "title": "Permit type keywords", "type": "array", "description": "Optional extra keywords — keep a permit if ANY keyword appears in its type or description (case-insensitive). Example: \"demolition\", \"pool\".", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "minValuation": { "title": "Minimum valuation (USD)", "minimum": 0, "type": "integer", "description": "Only keep permits with reported valuation at or above this amount. 0 = no filter. Note: some cities don't publish valuations (see README coverage table) — this filter drops their records.", "default": 0 }, "onlyNewResults": { "title": "Only new results (for scheduled runs)", "type": "boolean", "description": "Remember the newest permit seen per city and only return newer ones on the next run. Turn this on + schedule the Actor daily for a fresh-leads feed.", "default": false }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max results", "minimum": 0, "type": "integer", "description": "Stop after this many permits (controls your cost). 0 = unlimited.", "default": 0 }, "socrataAppToken": { "title": "Socrata app token (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Free token from any Socrata site (e.g. data.cityofchicago.org) raises rate limits for the 7 Socrata-backed cities. Works fine without one for normal volumes." } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```