# US Building Permit Portal Finder — Accela EnerGov Socrata (`bakos_bence/permit-portal-finder`) Actor

Resolve US cities to official building-permit portal URLs and platform family (Accela, EnerGov, Socrata, ArcGIS, custom). Suggests bakos\_bence/accela-permits for Accela tenants. Curated public directory — no login. Unofficial; not affiliated with Accela, Tyler, or any agency.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/bakos\_bence/permit-portal-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [Bakos Bence](https://apify.com/bakos_bence) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, Automation, Real estate
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.25 / 1,000 results

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?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

### What does US Building Permit Portal Finder do?

**Resolve US cities to official building-permit portal URLs** and identify the **platform family** — **Accela**, **EnerGov**, **Socrata**, **ArcGIS**, or **custom** agency portals. Each row includes **portal URL**, **search URL**, optional **reachability check**, and a **suggested Apify Actor** (`bakos_bence/accela-permits` for Accela tenants). Curated catalog of **30+ jurisdictions** — no login required. Export **JSON or CSV** via Apify API, schedule, or MCP.

**Unofficial.** This Actor is **not affiliated with, endorsed by, or maintained by** Accela, Tyler Technologies, OpenGov, Esri, or any municipal agency. It maps **public** portal endpoints only.

**Dashboards:** connect **Power BI**, **Tableau**, **Looker Studio**, or **Qlik** to the dataset API — see *Export to Power BI, Tableau, Looker Studio & Qlik* near the end. **AI agents:** paste this Actor’s Store page URL into an Apify-capable agent (MCP / Claude / Cursor with Apify), create an Apify account and API token once, and the agent can run the Actor and wire up the output.

#### Why use this portal finder?

- 🏛️ Know whether a city runs Accela, EnerGov, Socrata, or ArcGIS before you scrape
- 🔗 Official portal + search URLs in one dataset row
- 🧭 Suggested `bakos_bence/accela-permits` Actor for Accela jurisdictions
- 📋 Curated catalog — Salt Lake (SLCREF), Oakland, COSP, Alameda, Santa Clara, Austin Socrata, and more

#### How to find permit portals

1. Open this Actor in [Apify Console](https://console.apify.com/).
2. Click **Start** on the prefilled Salt Lake City / Oakland / Austin run (`maxItems` 5), or enter your own city list.
3. Leave `proxyType` on `none` unless reachability checks fail.
4. Export the dataset or pull via API. For Accela rows, run [`bakos_bence/accela-permits`](https://apify.com/bakos_bence/accela-permits) with the tenant code.

```json
{
  "cities": ["Salt Lake City, UT", "Oakland, CA", "Austin, TX"],
  "maxItems": 5,
  "checkReachability": true,
  "proxyType": "none"
}
```

#### How much does it cost?

**Pay per event (PPE):** Actor start + each **result** row. See the Pricing tab on this Actor’s Store page.

#### Input

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `cities` | City/jurisdiction strings (case-insensitive) |
| `maxItems` | Cap on portal rows |
| `checkReachability` | Optional HEAD/GET reachability flag |
| `proxyType` | Optional proxy for reachability checks |

#### Sample output

```json
{
  "city": "Salt Lake City",
  "state": "UT",
  "jurisdiction": "Salt Lake City, UT",
  "portalFamily": "accela",
  "portalUrl": "https://aca-prod.accela.com/SLCREF/Default.aspx",
  "searchUrl": "https://aca-prod.accela.com/SLCREF/Cap/CapHome.aspx?module=Building",
  "suggestedActor": "bakos_bence/accela-permits",
  "portalReachable": true,
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-09T11:00:00+00:00"
}
```

#### FAQ

##### Is this an official Accela or city product?

No. It is an unofficial curated directory of public permit portal URLs.

##### Does this scrape permit records?

No — it returns **portal metadata** only. Use [`bakos_bence/accela-permits`](https://apify.com/bakos_bence/accela-permits) or a platform-specific Actor to pull permit rows.

##### Can AI agents call this?

Yes — Actor ID `bakos_bence/permit-portal-finder` via Apify API or [MCP](https://mcp.apify.com).

##### Something broke?

Open the **Issues** tab on this Actor’s page.

#### Related Actors

| Actor | Use together when… |
|-------|-------------------|
| [Accela Building Permits Scraper](https://apify.com/bakos_bence/accela-permits) | You need permit grid rows from Accela Citizen Access |
| [Public Document Finder](https://apify.com/bakos_bence/public-document-finder) | You need broader public-records routing |

Profile: [bakos\_bence on Apify](https://apify.com/bakos_bence).

#### For AI agents & LLM apps

Paste this Actor’s **Apify Store URL** into an agent that can use Apify (MCP, Claude, Cursor, etc.). With an Apify account and API token, the agent can set input, run the Actor, and fetch the dataset.

#### Export to Power BI, Tableau, Looker Studio & Qlik

1. Run the Actor (or open a finished run).
2. Open the **Dataset** → **API** / **Export**.
3. Copy the dataset items URL (JSON or CSV).
4. In your BI tool, add a **web / API** data source with that URL (and your Apify token as a header or query param if required).
5. Refresh on a schedule that matches your jurisdiction onboarding cadence.

Portal URLs are public facts from agency sites — always verify the live portal before production scrapes.

# Actor input Schema

## `cities` (type: `array`):

City or jurisdiction strings to resolve (case-insensitive), e.g. "Salt Lake City, UT" or "Oakland, CA". Matches a curated catalog of 30+ US portals.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Cap how many portal rows to push. Leave at 5 for a cheap first run.

## `checkReachability` (type: `boolean`):

When enabled, performs a lightweight HEAD/GET check and sets portalReachable on each row.

## `proxyType` (type: `string`):

Leave on none — this Actor uses a static catalog with optional reachability checks. Enable Apify Proxy only if checks fail from your IP.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Used only when Proxy is Apify Proxy.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "cities": [
    "Salt Lake City, UT",
    "Oakland, CA",
    "Austin, TX"
  ],
  "maxItems": 5,
  "checkReachability": true,
  "proxyType": "none",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Default dataset items.

# 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 = {
    "cities": [
        "Salt Lake City, UT",
        "Oakland, CA",
        "Austin, TX"
    ],
    "maxItems": 5,
    "checkReachability": true,
    "proxyType": "none"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("bakos_bence/permit-portal-finder").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 = {
    "cities": [
        "Salt Lake City, UT",
        "Oakland, CA",
        "Austin, TX",
    ],
    "maxItems": 5,
    "checkReachability": True,
    "proxyType": "none",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("bakos_bence/permit-portal-finder").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 '{
  "cities": [
    "Salt Lake City, UT",
    "Oakland, CA",
    "Austin, TX"
  ],
  "maxItems": 5,
  "checkReachability": true,
  "proxyType": "none"
}' |
apify call bakos_bence/permit-portal-finder --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,bakos_bence/permit-portal-finder"
        }
    }
}
```

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/vjk1OWo1KF142PEOF/builds/IWHcamSAOYZP6BF6w/openapi.json