# Contractor Permit Lead Radar (`rustic_soybean/contractor-permit-lead-radar`) Actor

Turn fresh public building permits into scored contractor sales leads for roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, remodeling, and other trades, with new/changed-only recurring monitoring.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/rustic_soybean/contractor-permit-lead-radar.md
- **Developed by:** [Chris Johnson](https://apify.com/rustic_soybean) (community)
- **Categories:** Business
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $4.00 / 1,000 permit leads

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

## Contractor Permit Lead Radar

Turn fresh public building permits into structured contractor sales leads. This Actor is designed for roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, windows, siding, masonry, remodeling, restoration, and other contractor sales teams that want an earlier signal than waiting for a property owner to request quotes publicly.

### Why contractors use permit leads

A newly issued permit can indicate that real work is planned at a real address. The Actor reads public permit feeds, filters them against your trade keywords and territory, scores records by trade relevance, recency, and project value, and remembers what it has already seen. After the first run it can return only **NEW** or **CHANGED** permit signals so a scheduled workflow does not resend the same leads every day.

### Common use cases

- Find fresh building permit leads for contractor prospecting.
- Monitor roofing, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, solar, masonry, window, siding, or remodeling permits.
- Feed new permit signals into a CRM, sales queue, webhook, or AI-agent workflow.
- Prioritize higher-value projects and recently issued permits.
- Watch one or more public Socrata/JSON permit feeds on a recurring schedule.

### Input and coverage

Use `tradeKeywords`, ZIP prefixes, valuation and lookback filters, and optional `sourceUrls`. The default source is Chicago's public building-permit dataset. Add other compatible JSON/Socrata permit feeds when you need additional jurisdictions. `maxSourceRows` limits source pagination for predictable cost and run time.

### Output

Results include change type, lead score, permit ID, address, ZIP, issue date, permit/work type, work description, valuation, matched trades, owner/applicant contact when the public source supplies one, source URL, and check timestamp. The `SUMMARY` record reports source-row counts and truncation.

### Recurring monitoring and AI agents

Use an Apify schedule with a stable `stateKey` to create a repeatable permit-change feed. Structured output can be consumed through the Apify API, OpenAPI/MCP-compatible workflows, webhooks, CRMs, spreadsheets, or AI agents. A permit is a sales signal, not proof that a homeowner wants unsolicited contact; use public records responsibly and follow applicable marketing and privacy laws.

# Actor input Schema

## `sourceUrls` (type: `array`):

Optional Socrata/JSON permit endpoints. Defaults to Chicago's current building permit feed.

## `tradeKeywords` (type: `string`):

Trade keywords setting.

## `zipPrefixes` (type: `string`):

Optional comma-separated ZIP codes or prefixes.

## `minValuation` (type: `number`):

Minimum valuation setting.

## `lookbackDays` (type: `integer`):

Lookback days setting.

## `maxSourceRows` (type: `integer`):

Safety cap per source. Socrata feeds are paged in 1,000-row batches; SUMMARY reports truncation.

## `stateKey` (type: `string`):

Watchlist name setting.

## `firstRunBehavior` (type: `string`):

First run setting.

## `includeRaw` (type: `boolean`):

Include source record setting.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "tradeKeywords": "roof,roofing,hvac,plumbing,electrical,solar,window,siding,masonry",
  "minValuation": 0,
  "lookbackDays": 14,
  "maxSourceRows": 5000,
  "stateKey": "default",
  "firstRunBehavior": "return_matches",
  "includeRaw": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("rustic_soybean/contractor-permit-lead-radar").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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("rustic_soybean/contractor-permit-lead-radar").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 '{}' |
apify call rustic_soybean/contractor-permit-lead-radar --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,rustic_soybean/contractor-permit-lead-radar"
        }
    }
}
```

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/IS9n2uxJbK0N4GgMo/builds/lNEDRzB5qvEMVKMHR/openapi.json