Seattle Business License Lookup

This Apify actor provides comprehensive access to Seattle business license tax certificate data from the official Seattle Department of Finance database.

Features

• 🔍 Multiple Search Options: Search by business name, trade name, NAICS code, ownership type, address, ZIP code, account number, or UBI
• 📊 Rich Data: Returns complete business information including legal names, trade names, NAICS classifications, addresses, and contact details
• 🆓 Free Data Source: Uses Seattle's official Open Data API (no API key required)
• 📈 Updated Regularly: Data is refreshed regularly from the official source
• 🎯 Perfect for: Lead generation, market research, competitor analysis, and business verification

Input Parameters

• businessName: Search by legal business name (supports partial matches)
• tradeName: Search by trade name or "doing business as" name (supports partial matches)
• accountNumber: Direct lookup by Seattle city account number
• ubi: Direct lookup by Washington State Unified Business Identifier
• naicsCode: Filter by NAICS industry code (supports both partial and exact matches)
• ownershipType: Filter by ownership type (Corporation, LLC, Sole Proprietorship, etc.)
• zipCode: Filter by exact ZIP code
• address: Search by street address (supports partial matches)
• maxResults: Maximum number of results to return (default: 50, max: 1000)
• delayMs: Delay between requests in milliseconds (default: 500ms)

Output Data

Each business license record includes:

Basic Information

• Legal business name and trade name (DBA)
• Seattle city account number
• Washington State UBI (when available)
• Ownership type (Corporation, LLC, Partnership, etc.)

Industry Classification

• 6-digit NAICS code
• NAICS industry description

License Information

• License start date

Address & Contact

• Complete street address
• City, state, ZIP code
• Business phone number

Metadata

• Data source and last updated timestamp

Data Source

This actor uses the official Seattle Open Data portal:

• Dataset: Business License Tax Certificate (wnbq-64tb)
• Source: Seattle Department of Finance and Administrative Services
• API: Socrata Open Data API (no authentication required)
• Coverage: Active business licenses in Seattle

Use Cases

Lead Generation

• Find businesses by industry type using NAICS codes
• Discover new businesses or target specific ownership types
• Search by geographic area using ZIP codes or street addresses

Market Research & Analysis

• Analyze business density by industry in different areas
• Study ownership patterns (corporations vs. sole proprietorships)
• Research competitors in specific locations

Business Verification

• Verify business license status and information
• Look up official business names and trade names
• Cross-reference UBI numbers with other Washington State data

Example Searches

Find All Restaurants in Downtown Seattle

{
  "naicsCode": "722",
  "zipCode": "98101",
  "maxResults": 50
}

Look Up Specific Business by UBI

{
  "ubi": "6044995720010001"
}

Find Transportation Companies

{
  "naicsCode": "485",
  "maxResults": 30
}

Search for Businesses on Pike Street

{
  "address": "Pike St",
  "maxResults": 20
}

Find All LLCs in a ZIP Code

{
  "ownershipType": "Limited Liability Company",
  "zipCode": "98109",
  "maxResults": 25
}

NAICS Code Examples

• 722: Food Services and Drinking Places
• 485: Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation
• 541: Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• 236: Construction of Buildings
• 445: Food and Beverage Stores
• 721: Accommodation

Ownership Types

• Corporation: Traditional corporations
• Limited Liability Company: LLCs
• Sole proprietorship: Individual-owned businesses
• Partnership: Business partnerships
• Non-profit: Non-profit organizations

Seattle-Specific Features

UBI Integration

• Washington State Unified Business Identifier support
• Cross-reference with other WA state business databases
• Unique identifier for business tracking

Geographic Precision

• Seattle street address data with ZIP codes
• Support for neighborhood and district analysis
• Integration with other Seattle city services

Rate Limiting

The actor includes configurable delays between requests to be respectful of Seattle's Open Data API. Default is 500ms between requests.

Technical Details

• Built with Apify SDK v3
• Uses node-fetch for HTTP requests
• Comprehensive error handling and validation
• Structured data output optimized for analysis
• Support for both exact and partial matching
• Special date formatting for Seattle's YYYYMMDD format

API Coverage

This dataset covers businesses with active Seattle business license tax certificates. It includes:

• Businesses required to pay Seattle business license tax
• Various business types across all industries
• Both local Seattle businesses and businesses with Seattle operations
• Regular updates from the Department of Finance

Support

For questions about the data, please refer to the Seattle Open Data portal or contact the actor maintainer.

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Disclaimer: This actor accesses publicly available data from the City of Seattle. Users should verify critical information with official sources and comply with all applicable terms of use.