# Philadelphia Building Permits (`permitleads/philadelphia-building-permits`) Actor

New building permits issued in Philadelphia, tagged as sales leads: new construction, demolition, additions, roofing and commercial change of use. Includes owner, contractor, scope and address.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/permitleads/philadelphia-building-permits.md
- **Developed by:** [Permit Leads](https://apify.com/permitleads) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $8.00 / 1,000 permits

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

## Philadelphia Building Permits

Get newly issued building permits in Philadelphia as a clean, ready-to-use lead list. Each permit is tagged by lead type, so you can go straight to the jobs that matter to your business.

### Who it's for

- **Roofers, HVAC, solar, windows and siding companies:** homeowners who just pulled a permit are about to spend money.
- **Dumpster rental and junk removal:** demolition and renovation permits mean debris.
- **Building supply and lumber yards:** new construction and additions need materials.
- **Insurance agents:** new structures and changes of use need coverage.
- **Real estate investors and analysts:** track where building activity is happening.

### What you get

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| category | Roofing |
| issuedDate | 2026-09-29 |
| sector | Residential |
| address, zip | 414 S CARLISLE ST, 19146 |
| owner | Property owner of record |
| contractor | Contractor on the permit (when listed) |
| permitType, typeOfWork | General Permit Minor, EZ Roof Covering Replacement |
| scope | Approved scope of work |
| permitNumber | GM-2026-007110 |
| propertyUrl | Link to the property on atlas.phila.gov |

Download as CSV, Excel, JSON, or connect via API, Zapier or Make.

### Lead categories

- **New Construction:** new buildings
- **Demolition:** full and partial demolitions
- **Additions & Alterations:** building additions and alterations (interior, structural, exterior)
- **Roofing:** roof replacements and repairs
- **Commercial Change of Use:** commercial spaces changing use (new tenants, build-outs)

### How to use

1. Choose how many days back to search (default 7).
2. Pick the lead categories you want (or leave all selected).
3. Optionally filter to residential or commercial.
4. Run. Schedule it weekly to get fresh leads every Monday.

### Data source

City of Philadelphia, Department of Licenses & Inspections open data. Permits usually appear within a day or two of issue. This actor is not affiliated with the City of Philadelphia.

# Actor input Schema

## `daysBack` (type: `integer`):

Return permits issued in the last N days.

## `categories` (type: `array`):

Which kinds of permits to include. Leave empty for all.

## `sector` (type: `string`):

Residential, commercial, or both.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many permits.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "daysBack": 7,
  "categories": [
    "new_construction",
    "demolition",
    "additions",
    "roofing",
    "commercial_change_of_use"
  ],
  "sector": "all",
  "maxItems": 1000
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `permits` (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 = {
    "daysBack": 7,
    "categories": [
        "new_construction",
        "demolition",
        "additions",
        "roofing",
        "commercial_change_of_use"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("permitleads/philadelphia-building-permits").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 = {
    "daysBack": 7,
    "categories": [
        "new_construction",
        "demolition",
        "additions",
        "roofing",
        "commercial_change_of_use",
    ],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("permitleads/philadelphia-building-permits").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 '{
  "daysBack": 7,
  "categories": [
    "new_construction",
    "demolition",
    "additions",
    "roofing",
    "commercial_change_of_use"
  ]
}' |
apify call permitleads/philadelphia-building-permits --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/0dryL17cPNFRIR7yg/builds/V4UPkdTIELPobSK4j/openapi.json