# California Real Estate License Search (CA DRE) (`lulzasaur/ca-dre-license-scraper`) Actor

Verify California real estate licenses from the official CA Department of Real Estate database — 300K+ salespersons, brokers, and corporations. Search by name, mailing city, or license ID. Returns status, expiration, issue date, responsible broker, and disciplinary comments.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/lulzasaur/ca-dre-license-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [lulz bot](https://apify.com/lulzasaur) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 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.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#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

## California Real Estate License Search (CA DRE)

Verify California real estate licenses straight from the official **California Department of Real Estate (DRE) Public License Lookup** — the authoritative source for 300,000+ licensed salespersons, brokers, and real estate corporations in California.

Search by licensee name, company name, mailing city, or exact license ID, and get back clean, structured JSON — including license status, expiration date, issue date, responsible broker, and any public disciplinary comments.

### Why this scraper?

- ✅ **Official state source** — data comes directly from the CA DRE database, not third-party profiles
- ✅ **Full detail records** — status, expiration, issue date, former names, responsible broker, disciplinary comments
- ✅ **Mortgage Loan Originator flag** — see which licensees hold an MLO endorsement
- ✅ **No account or API key needed** for the source site
- ✅ **Fast** — direct HTTP, no browser overhead

### Use cases

- **Title & escrow companies** — verify agent licensing before closing
- **Mortgage lenders** — confirm license status and MLO endorsement
- **MLS & brokerage compliance** — audit agent rosters for expired/revoked licenses
- **KYB / due diligence platforms** — real-time license verification for onboarding
- **Recruiters** — find active licensees by city

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `licenseeName` | string | Person name as `Last, First` (e.g. `Smith, John` or just `Smith`) or a company name. Required unless `licenseId` is set. |
| `mailingCity` | string | Optional filter by mailing address city. |
| `licenseId` | string | Exact 8-digit DRE license ID — returns the full detail record directly. |
| `includeDetails` | boolean | Fetch each licensee's full detail page (default `true`). |
| `maxResults` | integer | Max records to return (default `100`, `0` = unlimited). |

#### Example input

```json
{
    "licenseeName": "Smith",
    "mailingCity": "San Diego",
    "includeDetails": true,
    "maxResults": 50
}
```

### Output

Each record includes:

```json
{
    "licenseId": "01244127",
    "name": "Smith, Aaron Bryson",
    "licenseType": "SALESPERSON",
    "mailingCity": "ENCINITAS",
    "mortgageLoanOriginator": "No",
    "mailingAddress": "130 CADMUS ST | ENCINITAS, CA 92024",
    "expirationDate": "07/27/12",
    "licenseStatus": "EXPIRED",
    "licenseIssued": "09/05/98 (Unofficial -- taken from secondary records)",
    "formerNames": "NO FORMER NAMES",
    "responsibleBroker": "NO CURRENT RESPONSIBLE BROKER",
    "comments": "NO DISCIPLINARY ACTION | NO OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS",
    "detailUrl": "https://www2.dre.ca.gov/publicasp/pplinfo.asp?License_id=01244127",
    "source": "California Department of Real Estate (DRE) Public License Lookup",
    "scrapedAt": "2026-08-16T06:30:00.000Z"
}
```

### Related actors

Looking for other state license verification? Check out our contractor, nurse, insurance, and real estate license scrapers covering CA, TX, FL, NY, NJ, MD, and NC.

### Legal

This actor scrapes publicly available government records intended for license verification. The CA DRE notes that licensee mailing addresses are not intended for mass-mailing purposes. Use responsibly and in accordance with the source site's terms.

# Actor input Schema

## `licenseeName` (type: `string`):

Person name as "Last, First" (e.g. "Smith, John" or just "Smith") or a company name. Required unless licenseId is provided.

## `mailingCity` (type: `string`):

Optional filter by the licensee's mailing address city (may differ from their office city).

## `licenseId` (type: `string`):

Exact 8-digit DRE license ID (e.g. 01244127). Skips the name search and returns the full detail record directly.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch each licensee's detail page: mailing address, expiration date, license status, issue date, responsible broker, and disciplinary comments. One extra request per record.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of licensee records to return. Set to 0 for unlimited (broad name searches can match 10,000+ licensees).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "licenseeName": "Smith",
  "mailingCity": "",
  "licenseId": "",
  "includeDetails": true,
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (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 = {
    "licenseeName": "Smith"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("lulzasaur/ca-dre-license-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 = { "licenseeName": "Smith" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("lulzasaur/ca-dre-license-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 '{
  "licenseeName": "Smith"
}' |
apify call lulzasaur/ca-dre-license-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,lulzasaur/ca-dre-license-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/l7lFEgQyzefEzeUWj/builds/vS8hudGJcXsoW1Aqm/openapi.json