# Municipal Building Permits & Contractors Scraper (6 Metros) (`jcoop32/municipal-building-permits-contractors-scraper`) Actor

Extract newly issued building permits, solar/roofing/HVAC/demolition permits, contractor names, project valuations, and open code violations across 6 US metros (Chicago, NYC, Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, Seattle) & Accela portals.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jcoop32/municipal-building-permits-contractors-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Joshua Cooper](https://apify.com/jcoop32) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Real estate
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

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/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 Municipal Building Permits, Contractors & Code Violations Scraper (NYC, LA, Chicago, Austin, SF, Seattle + Accela)

Extract newly issued **building permits**, **solar / roofing / HVAC / electrical / demolition permits**, **contractor names & phone numbers**, **project valuations**, and **open municipal code violations** into clean, scored B2B lead datasets.

Built for **commercial roofing companies**, **roll-off dumpster rental fleets**, **solar installers**, **building material wholesalers**, **real estate investors**, and **B2B lead generation agencies**.

***

### Supported US Metro Portals & National Aggregator Mode

- **`all_metros` (National Multi-Metro Aggregator)**: Pulls concurrently across all 6 major US cities in parallel and ranks the highest-value construction leads nationwide.
- **`nyc` — New York City, NY (NYC DOB NOW Build Approved Permits)**: Extracts Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, and Staten Island permits with contractor business names, license numbers, and job costs.
- **`los_angeles` — Los Angeles, CA (LADBS Building & Safety)**: Extracts LA building, re-roofing, solar, EV, and alteration permits with valuations and geocoordinates.
- **`chicago` — Chicago, IL (DOB Permits & Open Code Violations)**: Extracts Chicago building permits, contractor contacts, and open building code violations.
- **`austin` — Austin, TX (AMANDA Issued Construction Permits)**: Extracts Austin construction permits including General Contractor company names and direct contractor phone numbers.
- **`san_francisco` — San Francisco, CA (DBI Building Permits)**: Extracts San Francisco commercial and residential permits and valuations.
- **`seattle` — Seattle, WA (SDCI Building & Demolition Permits)**: Extracts Seattle construction, remodel, and demolition permits.
- **Custom Accela Citizen Access (`aca-prod.accela.com`)**: Pass any custom county/city Accela URL via `custom_accela_url` to run the built-in Playwright DOM extractor.

***

### Automated B2B Trade Classification & Lead Scoring

Every record is automatically classified into an actionable B2B contractor trade (`solar`, `roofing`, `hvac`, `electrical`, `plumbing`, `demolition`, `new_construction`, `remodeling`, `code_remediation`), scored from **0 to 100 (`b2b_lead_score`)**, and matched with `recommended_buyers` (e.g., `"Roll-Off Dumpster Fleets"`, `"Commercial Roofing Suppliers"`).

# Actor input Schema

## `city` (type: `string`):

Select the US municipal permit portal to scrape, or choose 'all_metros' for the concurrent 6-city national aggregator.

## `record_type` (type: `string`):

Extract building permits, open code violations, or both.

## `trade_filter` (type: `string`):

Filter permits by specific contractor trade or return all trades.

## `zip_code` (type: `string`):

Optional 5-digit zip code filter (leave empty for entire metro area).

## `min_estimated_cost` (type: `integer`):

Only return building permits with an estimated valuation at or above this amount.

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

Maximum number of scored permits/violations to extract in this run.

## `custom_accela_url` (type: `string`):

Optional: Provide a direct aca-prod.accela.com/<AGENCY>/ URL to run the Playwright Accela DOM extractor.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "city": "all_metros",
  "record_type": "all",
  "trade_filter": "all",
  "zip_code": "",
  "min_estimated_cost": 25000,
  "max_items": 25,
  "custom_accela_url": ""
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "city": "all_metros",
    "record_type": "all",
    "trade_filter": "all"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jcoop32/municipal-building-permits-contractors-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "city": "all_metros",
    "record_type": "all",
    "trade_filter": "all",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jcoop32/municipal-building-permits-contractors-scraper").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 '{
  "city": "all_metros",
  "record_type": "all",
  "trade_filter": "all"
}' |
apify call jcoop32/municipal-building-permits-contractors-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,jcoop32/municipal-building-permits-contractors-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

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/4cqAhTwi8c9F0eOhg/builds/75TDHG2GaBXFibbHh/openapi.json