🔔 Chicago Business Licenses

One record per Chicago business-licence record (type, status, dates, address, business activity, legal + DBA name) from the keyless Chicago Socrata resource. Licence type/status/dates carried as published; nulls preserved. Crawl-Delay 1 honoured.

Public, robots-honoured.

Output is one chicago_business_license row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one registry record (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.02 per registry record). Source: data.cityofchicago.org.

No login, no API key and no CAPTCHA solving are involved: the source is read logged-out with an identified contact User-Agent.

Who buys this

Buyers usually search for Chicago business license or business license scraper.

• Sales and lead-generation teams building lists from Chicago business license.
• KYB, onboarding and compliance teams checking business license scraper.
• Market researchers and data teams that need the official record as rows.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run 3MDF8RNs9SigqwATV on build 0.1.6 (2026-09-18), the same input as the Quick start below — every value is as the source published it (emails masked, long text shortened):

record_id	legal_name	doing_business_as_name	address	license_description	business_activity
2791479-20230516	GROVER STRATEGIES LLC	Grover Strategies	20 N CLARK ST 33 3300	Limited Business License	Operation of an Administrative Commercial Office
2163831-20120921	SUNSTONE EAST GRAND LESSEE, INC.	HILTON GARDEN INN CHICAGO DOWNTOWN/MAGNIFICENT MILE	10 E GRAND AVE 1-23	Consumption on Premises - Incidental Activity	Consumption of Liquor on Premises
13765-20020216	K MART CORP	BIG KMART #9355	1740 N KOSTNER AVE	Retail Food Establishment	Retail Sales of Perishable Foods
8584-20220616	PEACE PHARMACY INC	PEACE PHARMACY INC	2320 S WENTWORTH AVE 1ST	Limited Business License	Pharmacy / Photo Services
2464346-20181116	JO GLAD CORP.	JO GLAD	25750 OLYMPIC DR	Limited Business License	Miscellaneous Commercial Services
1518587-20041006	JONATHAN HADDAD	JON'S MINI MART	5700 S DAMEN AVE	Retail Food Establishment	Retail Sales of Perishable Foods
1194940-20071216	MIGUEL ANGEL DUARTE	VEGAS MEAT	2402 S BLUE ISLAND AVE	Wholesale Food Establishment	Enagage in Wholesale Food Sales
1883558-20080319	DWIGHT L FLEMING	ROUTE 69 PALACE	808 W 69TH ST 1ST	Retail Food Establishment	Retail Sales of Perishable Foods

The run finished with the status message: NORMAL: 50 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed). billable=50

✅ What you get

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_type (string) — e.g. chicago_business_license
• record_id (string/null) — e.g. 2791479-20230516
• license_id (string/null) — e.g. 2899773
• account_number (string/null) — e.g. 458450
• site_number (string/null) — e.g. 2
• legal_name (string/null) — e.g. GROVER STRATEGIES LLC
• doing_business_as_name (string/null) — e.g. Grover Strategies
• address (string/null) — e.g. 20 N CLARK ST 33 3300
• city (string/null) — e.g. CHICAGO
• state (string/null) — e.g. IL
• zip_code (string/null) — e.g. 60602
• ward (string/null) — e.g. 34
• police_district (string/null) — e.g. 1
• community_area_name (string/null) — e.g. LOOP
• neighborhood (string/null) — e.g. LOOP
• license_code (string/null) — e.g. 1010
• license_description (string/null) — e.g. Limited Business License
• business_activity (string/null) — e.g. Operation of an Administrative Commercial Office
• license_number (string/null) — e.g. 2791479
• application_type (string/null) — e.g. RENEW
• license_start_date (string/null) — e.g. 2023-05-16T00:00:00.000
• expiration_date (string/null) — e.g. 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000
• date_issued (string/null) — e.g. 2023-05-02T00:00:00.000
• license_status (string/null) — e.g. AAI
• license_status_change_date (string/null) — null in every sample row
• source (string/null) — e.g. chicago-business-licenses
• release_date (string/null) — null in every sample row
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://data.cityofchicago.org/resource/r5kz-chrr.json
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-18T20:06:42Z
• terminal (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• license (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• attribution (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row

✅ What you get

• record_type (string) — e.g. chicago_business_license
• record_id (string/null) — e.g. 2791479-20230516
• license_id (string/null) — e.g. 2899773
• account_number (string/null) — e.g. 458450
• site_number (string/null) — e.g. 2
• legal_name (string/null) — e.g. GROVER STRATEGIES LLC
• doing_business_as_name (string/null) — e.g. Grover Strategies
• address (string/null) — e.g. 20 N CLARK ST 33 3300
• city (string/null) — e.g. CHICAGO
• state (string/null) — e.g. IL
• zip_code (string/null) — e.g. 60602
• ward (string/null) — e.g. 34
• police_district (string/null) — e.g. 1
• community_area_name (string/null) — e.g. LOOP
• neighborhood (string/null) — e.g. LOOP
• license_code (string/null) — e.g. 1010
• license_description (string/null) — e.g. Limited Business License
• business_activity (string/null) — e.g. Operation of an Administrative Commercial Office
• license_number (string/null) — e.g. 2791479
• application_type (string/null) — e.g. RENEW
• license_start_date (string/null) — e.g. 2023-05-16T00:00:00.000
• expiration_date (string/null) — e.g. 2025-05-15T00:00:00.000
• date_issued (string/null) — e.g. 2023-05-02T00:00:00.000
• license_status (string/null) — e.g. AAI
• license_status_change_date (string/null) — null in every sample row
• source (string/null) — e.g. chicago-business-licenses
• release_date (string/null) — null in every sample row
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://data.cityofchicago.org/resource/r5kz-chrr.json
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-18T19:40:36Z
• terminal (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• license (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• attribution (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row

What you get

One registry_record per entity, deduplicated on the source-native id. Fields the source does not publish are honest null. A run_receipt row carries the source URL, scope, reconciliation counts, and delivered/duplicate totals.

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "maxRecords": 10
}

The sample run charged exactly: 2 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 50 × $0.02 registry_record = $1.04 on the Free tier — every delivered row was billed. If you leave maxRecords out, the run delivers at most 50 rows (the schema default); pass a number up to 500000 for a bigger export. An explicit value is always honoured up to that maximum.

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "maxRecords": 5
}

Caps the run at 5 rows — about $0.12 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 5 × $0.02).

3. A full-size run

{
  "maxRecords": 5000
}

Up to 5000 rows — about $100.02 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 5000 × $0.02) if the source has that many; maxRecords goes up to 500000.

4. A filtered run

{
  "maxRecords": 10,
  "fieldMatch": {
    "legal_name": "starbucks",
    "zip_code": "60614"
  }
}

Licences whose legal name contains starbucks in ZIP 60614; the source applies this filter before paging and before the maxRecords cap, so a match deep in the dataset is found, the reconciled count is the matched count, and only delivered matches are billed. A confirmed no-match ends EMPTY_SELECTION with nothing charged.

🧾 JSON sample record

One real record from run 3MDF8RNs9SigqwATV, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "record_type": "chicago_business_license",
  "record_id": "2791479-20230516",
  "license_id": "2899773",
  "account_number": "458450",
  "site_number": "2",
  "legal_name": "GROVER STRATEGIES LLC",
  "doing_business_as_name": "Grover Strategies",
  "address": "20 N CLARK ST 33 3300",
  "city": "CHICAGO",
  "state": "IL",
  "zip_code": "60602",
  "ward": "34",
  "police_district": "1",
  "community_area_name": "LOOP",
  "neighborhood": "LOOP",
  "license_code": "1010",
  "license_description": "Limited Business License",
  "business_activity": "Operation of an Administrative Commercial Office",
  "license_number": "2791479",
  "application_type": "RENEW",
  "license_start_date": "2023-05-16T00:00:00.000",
  "expiration_date": "2025-05-15T00:00:00.000",
  "date_issued": "2023-05-02T00:00:00.000",
  "license_status": "AAI",
  "license_status_change_date": null,
  "source": "chicago-business-licenses",
  "release_date": null,
  "source_url": "https://data.cityofchicago.org/resource/r5kz-chrr.json",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-18T20:06:42Z"
}

🔧 How it works

Source. The actor reads data.cityofchicago.org — endpoints: https://data.cityofchicago.org/resource/r5kz-chrr.json. Public pages and feeds only; nothing behind a login.

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. robots.txt is read first and a disallowed path is never fetched. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent. Pacing: CRAWL_DELAY=1.0.

Charging. Each registry record is charged at the moment it is pushed (registry_record); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count.

🔧 How it works

How it behaves

Rows are paged from the Chicago Socrata resource (:id order, $limit/$offset), an optional statusFilter narrows the published status, and count(*) is reconciled. Crawl-Delay 1 honoured. Streaming, bounded to maxRecords — never a full-file self-charged pull; full-scope :id-ordered, memory bounded.

Source

https://data.cityofchicago.org/resource/r5kz-chrr.json

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
Registry Record (registry_record)	$0.02	$0.018	$0.016	$0.0134

Worked at the live Free-tier price:

• 8 registry records: $0.02 start + 8 × $0.02 = $0.18
• 25 registry records: $0.02 start + 25 × $0.02 = $0.52
• 50 registry records: $0.02 start + 50 × $0.02 = $1.02

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee only. A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 4096 MB.

Yield on the sample run: NORMAL: 50 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed). billable=50. maxRecords is a hard ceiling on what is delivered and billed, never a target.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public, logged-out pages and feeds published by data.cityofchicago.org. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, keeps to the source's robots rules (checked on every run), identifies itself with a contact User-Agent, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. The source (data.cityofchicago.org) is read logged-out; the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows?
A: Read the run's status message. GENUINE_EMPTY means the source was read and had nothing in scope for your input; BLOCKED means the source refused and the run failed without billing a value event — retry later or narrow the input. A zero-row run bills the start fee only.

Q: How many rows can one run return?
A: Up to maxRecords (default 50). Raise the cap for a bigger run; you pay per delivered row.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run reads the source live at run time; nothing is cached between runs. Put it on a schedule for a continuous feed.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other NexGen Watch actors actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers data.cityofchicago.org. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

Q: Are there rate limits?
A: The actor paces itself against the source (CRAWL_DELAY=1.0) and honours its robots rules; there is no per-buyer limit beyond your Apify plan's concurrency.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Status says CAPPED → your cap (maxRecords) was reached → raise it for a bigger run.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.

🔗 Related Actors

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• 🏢 About NexGen Watch — NexGen Watch is a catalog of more than 300 public data actors built on official sources, pay-per-result. Browse the catalog at apify.com/nexgenwatch.

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