Austin Building Permits Scraper

Overview

Fetches building permit data from Austin's open data portal (Socrata API). Supports filters (Permit Type, Permit Status, Start Date (Issued), End Date (Issued)).

Features

• Filter results by category or type
• Export data in JSON, CSV, or Excel formats
• Control output volume with configurable result limits

Use Cases

• Track - Track state and local government data and permits
• Monitor - Monitor regulatory filings and public records
• Build - Build databases for civic tech and transparency projects
• Aggregate - Aggregate local government data for community research

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
permitType	string	Filter by permit type code (e.g., 'BP' for Building, 'EP' for Electrical, 'PP...	``
status	string	Filter by current permit status	``
workClass	string	Filter by work class (e.g., 'New', 'Remodel', 'Repair', 'Upgrade')	``
startDate	string	Filter permits issued on or after this date (YYYY-MM-DD format)	``
endDate	string	Filter permits issued on or before this date (YYYY-MM-DD format)	``
contractorName	string	Search by contractor company name (partial match supported)	``
minValuation	integer	Minimum project valuation in dollars	0
maxValuation	integer	Maximum project valuation in dollars (0 = no limit)	0
councilDistrict	string	Filter by Austin council district number (1-10)	``
maxItems	integer	Maximum number of records to fetch	1000

Output Example

Each result contains structured data like this:

{
  "title": "Sample Government - State/Local Result",
  "agency": "Department of Commerce",
  "date": "2025-01-15",
  "description": "Detailed description of the item...",
  "location": "San Francisco, CA",
  "documentUrl": "https://example.com/item/12345",
  "url": "https://example.com/item/12345"
}

Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-result pricing:

• $0.001 per result
• $1.00 per 1,000 results

No monthly fees. You only pay for what you scrape. Apify Free plan includes $5/month in platform credits.

How to Run

Apify Console

1. Go to the Austin Building Permits Scraper actor page
2. Configure your input parameters
3. Click Start and wait for the results
4. Download data in JSON, CSV, or Excel format

API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fortuitous_pirate~austin-building-permits/runs?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"maxItems": 10}'

Python SDK

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("fortuitous_pirate/austin-building-permits").call(
    run_input={"maxItems": 10}
)

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

Integration

Connect Austin Building Permits Scraper with your existing tools and workflows:

• API access - Programmatic access via Apify API
• Webhooks - Get notified when scraping completes
• Scheduling - Set up recurring runs on any schedule
• Zapier / Make - Connect with 5,000+ apps via Apify integrations
• Python / Node.js SDKs - Native client libraries for easy integration