# US Contractor License Lookup & Search API - Multi-State (`captainhandsome/us-contractor-license-search`) Actor

Contractor license lookup across state licensing boards. Search California CSLB and Oregon CCB from one input for licensed contractor records: licence number, business name, status and location. A license lookup API for vetting, compliance and lead lists.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/captainhandsome/us-contractor-license-search.md
- **Developed by:** [Joseph McRell](https://apify.com/captainhandsome) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.10 / 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?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## US Contractor License Search - Multi-State

Search public California and Oregon contractor-license records by business or person name. Export status, license number, type, location, and source URL. Results are returned as clean, typed dataset rows suitable for CSV, JSON, automation, and AI-agent workflows.

### What data can I extract?

Key output fields include `source`, `business_name`, `license_number`, `status`, `location`, `name_type`. The dataset schema documents every field before a run starts.

#### All 45 columns

**Identity** — `associated_individuals`, `assumed_business_names`, `bond_number`, `business_name`, `contractor_name`, `legal_name`, `license_number`, `name_type`, `residential_bond_amount`, `residential_bond_company`, `unpaid_civil_penalties`, `unpaid_claims`

**Status** — `additional_status`, `classifications`, `endorsement_type`, `entity_type`, `license_status_detail`, `status`, `workers_comp_status`

**Dates** — `date_first_licensed`, `expiration_date`, `expire_date`, `issue_date`, `reissue_date`

**Location** — `address`, `business_address`, `city`

**Money** — `bond_amount`, `bond_surety`, `bonding_information`, `commercial_bond_amount`, `commercial_bond_company`, `liability_amount`

**Contact** — `business_phone`, `phone`

**Other detail** — `administrative_suspensions`, `business_entity`, `complaint_history`, `disciplinary_history`, `lbpr_certified`, `liability_expiration`, `liability_insurer`, `miscellaneous_information`, `source`, `workers_comp_policy`

### Input example

```json
{
  "search_terms": [
    "SMITH"
  ],
  "sources": [
    "california",
    "oregon"
  ],
  "max_items": 10
}
```

`max_items` is a hard output and billing ceiling. Source fields may be null when the upstream public record does not provide them.

### Output example

Each dataset item is one normalized result. The field names shown under What data can I extract are emitted as typed JSON properties and can be exported as CSV, Excel, XML, or RSS.

### Common use cases

- Lead, market, compliance, and competitive research
- Scheduled monitoring and change detection
- CSV/JSON enrichment pipelines
- AI-agent retrieval and workflow automation

### Pricing and cost control

Output is billed per result at **$0.003 per result** (about $3.00 per 1,000 results), plus a $0.0005 Actor-start charge billed once per gigabyte of memory at run start. Use `max_items` to cap both output volume and charges. The price shown on the Apify Store listing is authoritative.

### Use with AI agents and MCP

Apify's MCP server can discover and call this Actor. Example intent:

> Verify public California and Oregon contractor-license records for a company name.

Use the JSON input above as the tool arguments, changing filters and `max_items` as needed. The strict input schema rejects unknown properties, and the typed dataset schema describes the returned tool data.

### Reliability

Runs use bounded retries, deduplication, hard result limits, and explicit failure handling. Browser-based sources are monitored by contract canaries and staged selector repair; official-API sources use deterministic contract canaries rather than DOM repair.

### Limitations and responsible use

- Publicly available source data only; coverage and field availability depend on the upstream source.
- A successful search can legitimately return no matching records.
- Point-in-time fields can change after collection.
- Use the data in accordance with applicable law and source terms.
- Do not use results for prohibited eligibility, discrimination, or sensitive-person profiling decisions.

### FAQ

#### What search phrases does this Actor support?

The input schema lists exact accepted fields and examples. Primary discovery terms: contractor license lookup, CSLB scraper, Oregon CCB search, contractor verification API.

#### Can I control cost?

Yes. Set `max_items`; it is enforced as the maximum number of output records.

#### Can an AI agent call it?

Yes. Use Apify MCP `search-actors`, inspect this Actor's schema, then call it with the same JSON accepted in Console.

#### Does it require an external API key?

No external API key is required. Searches query official state licensing registries directly.

### Changes

See [CHANGELOG.md](./CHANGELOG.md) for contract and maintenance updates.

# Changelog

This Actor's version history is a separate document: https://apify.com/captainhandsome/us-contractor-license-search/changelog.md

# Actor input Schema

## `search_terms` (type: `array`):

Business, qualifier, or person names to look up in supported public license registries.

## `sources` (type: `array`):

Supported public contractor-license sources to search.

## `max_items` (type: `integer`):

Hard output and billing ceiling across all terms and states.

## `include_details` (type: `boolean`):

Open each licence's detail page to add bonding, insurance, workers' compensation, classifications, disciplinary history and issue/expiry dates. Adds one request per record, so runs take longer.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "search_terms": [
    "SMITH"
  ],
  "sources": [
    "california",
    "oregon"
  ],
  "max_items": 10,
  "include_details": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Extracted records, one object per row on the source page.

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("captainhandsome/us-contractor-license-search").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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("captainhandsome/us-contractor-license-search").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 '{}' |
apify call captainhandsome/us-contractor-license-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,captainhandsome/us-contractor-license-search"
        }
    }
}
```

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/VDseOtPU1BOUbQj9k/builds/AKqtUYeHeaMBHIJBq/openapi.json