Chicago Building Permits Scraper

Extract Chicago Building Permits building permit records for construction project research, permit monitoring and development analysis. Chicago Building Permits Scraper collects public information into one complete dataset table, ready to export as Excel, CSV or JSON.

Use search filters or permit numbers, set how many results you need and start the Actor. Search finds matching records; Details retrieves the available information for records you already know.

At a glance	Details
📥 Input	Search filters or permit numbers
📋 Collection modes	Search permit records; Get permit details
📤 Output	One row per record, or a failed row for an unsuccessful input
📄 Pagination	Automatic, up to maxResults while more records are available
🔐 Website login	Not required
💾 Export	One dataset view with all fields; Excel, CSV and JSON

What the Chicago Building Permits scraper collects 📋

Mode	What you receive
Search permit records	Matching building permit records and the fields published in the search results.
Get permit details	Available public information for each supplied record. The full output example below shows its actual fields.

The field table and complete examples below show the information this Actor returns. Optional values depend on what the source publishes for the selected record.

How to scrape Chicago Building Permits 🚀

1. Choose Search permit records or Get permit details.
2. Complete the search filters or permit numbers.
3. Set Maximum results. The minimum is 1.
4. Start the Actor and review the saved dataset.
5. Export the results or connect them to your workflow.

Search permit records — input example

{
  "mode": "search",
  "maxResults": 10
}

Get permit details — input example

{
  "mode": "details",
  "recordIds": [
    "B000116939"
  ],
  "maxResults": 1
}

maxResults limits all saved rows for each search or supplied record, including a failed row. It does not guarantee that the source has that many matching records. A detail lookup normally returns one record, although sources with multiple revisions or establishments can return more.

Chicago Building Permits data fields and complete output 📦

Each result stays in one row. Every returned field appears in the same dataset view, including list fields and additional published facts. Fields unavailable for a particular record remain empty.

Field	Included data
result_type	Selected collection mode.
input	Submitted search settings, record link or record number.
status	Success or failed outcome.
error_code	Failure category for an unsuccessful input.
error_message	Readable explanation for an unsuccessful input.
id	Id, when published.
permit	Permit, when published.
permit_status	Permit status, when published.
permit_milestone	Permit milestone, when published.
permit_type	Permit type, when published.
review_type	Review type, when published.
application_start_date	Application start date, when published.
issue_date	Issue date, when published.
processing_time	Processing time, when published.
street_number	Street number, when published.
street_direction	Street direction, when published.
street_name	Street name, when published.
work_type	Work type, when published.
work_description	Work description, when published.
building_fee_paid	Building fee paid, when published.
zoning_fee_paid	Zoning fee paid, when published.
other_fee_paid	Other fee paid, when published.
subtotal_paid	Subtotal paid, when published.
building_fee_unpaid	Building fee unpaid, when published.
zoning_fee_unpaid	Zoning fee unpaid, when published.
other_fee_unpaid	Other fee unpaid, when published.
subtotal_unpaid	Subtotal unpaid, when published.
building_fee_waived	Building fee waived, when published.
building_fee_subtotal	Building fee subtotal, when published.
zoning_fee_subtotal	Zoning fee subtotal, when published.
other_fee_subtotal	Other fee subtotal, when published.
zoning_fee_waived	Zoning fee waived, when published.
other_fee_waived	Other fee waived, when published.
subtotal_waived	Subtotal waived, when published.
total_fee	Total fee, when published.
contact_1_type	Contact 1 type, when published.
contact_1_name	Contact 1 name, when published.
contact_1_city	Contact 1 city, when published.
contact_1_state	Contact 1 state, when published.
contact_1_zipcode	Contact 1 zipcode, when published.
contact_2_type	Contact 2 type, when published.
contact_2_name	Contact 2 name, when published.
contact_2_city	Contact 2 city, when published.
contact_2_state	Contact 2 state, when published.
contact_2_zipcode	Contact 2 zipcode, when published.
community_area	Community area, when published.
census_tract	Census tract, when published.
ward	Ward, when published.
xcoordinate	Xcoordinate, when published.
ycoordinate	Ycoordinate, when published.
latitude	Latitude, when published.
longitude	Longitude, when published.
location.type	Location / type, when published.
location.coordinates	Location / coordinates, when published.
record_id	Stable identifier for the source record.
url	Public source link when the website provides one.
additional_fields.name	Names of additional published fields, when present.
additional_fields.value	Their corresponding values in the same order.

The complete result below is included for every mode. Text and lists are not shortened. These are examples from validation runs; the source can change.

Search permit records — complete JSON result

{
  "result_type": "search",
  "input": "{\"dateFrom\": null, \"dateTo\": null, \"permitType\": null}",
  "id": "1000268",
  "permit": "B000116939",
  "permit_status": "COMPLETE",
  "permit_milestone": "COMPLETE",
  "permit_type": "PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM",
  "review_type": "EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM",
  "application_start_date": "2002-06-28T00:00:00.000",
  "issue_date": "2007-07-07T00:00:00.000",
  "processing_time": "1835",
  "street_number": "1212",
  "street_direction": "W",
  "street_name": "FULLERTON AVE",
  "work_type": "Electrical Work",
  "work_description": "REPAIRED SERVICE",
  "building_fee_paid": "50",
  "zoning_fee_paid": "0",
  "other_fee_paid": "0",
  "subtotal_paid": "50",
  "building_fee_unpaid": "0",
  "zoning_fee_unpaid": "0",
  "other_fee_unpaid": "0",
  "subtotal_unpaid": "0",
  "building_fee_waived": "0",
  "building_fee_subtotal": "50",
  "zoning_fee_subtotal": "0",
  "other_fee_subtotal": "0",
  "zoning_fee_waived": "0",
  "other_fee_waived": "0",
  "subtotal_waived": "0",
  "total_fee": "50",
  "contact_1_type": "OTHER CONTRACTOR",
  "contact_1_name": "ACORN ELECTRIC",
  "contact_1_city": "CAROL STREAM",
  "contact_1_state": "IL",
  "contact_1_zipcode": "60188",
  "contact_2_type": "APPLICANT",
  "contact_2_name": "U HAUL",
  "contact_2_city": "CHICAGO",
  "contact_2_state": "IL",
  "contact_2_zipcode": "60639",
  "community_area": "7",
  "census_tract": "70500",
  "ward": "32",
  "xcoordinate": "1167755.604549103",
  "ycoordinate": "1916124.9892167808",
  "latitude": "41.92539401425026",
  "longitude": "-87.6590043996931",
  "location.type": "Point",
  "location.coordinates": [
    -87.659004399693,
    41.92539401425
  ],
  "status": "success",
  "record_id": "1000268",
  "url": null,
  "additional_fields.name": [],
  "additional_fields.value": []
}

Get permit details — complete JSON result

{
  "result_type": "details",
  "input": "B000116939",
  "id": "1000268",
  "permit": "B000116939",
  "permit_status": "COMPLETE",
  "permit_milestone": "COMPLETE",
  "permit_type": "PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM",
  "review_type": "EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM",
  "application_start_date": "2002-06-28T00:00:00.000",
  "issue_date": "2007-07-07T00:00:00.000",
  "processing_time": "1835",
  "street_number": "1212",
  "street_direction": "W",
  "street_name": "FULLERTON AVE",
  "work_type": "Electrical Work",
  "work_description": "REPAIRED SERVICE",
  "building_fee_paid": "50",
  "zoning_fee_paid": "0",
  "other_fee_paid": "0",
  "subtotal_paid": "50",
  "building_fee_unpaid": "0",
  "zoning_fee_unpaid": "0",
  "other_fee_unpaid": "0",
  "subtotal_unpaid": "0",
  "building_fee_waived": "0",
  "building_fee_subtotal": "50",
  "zoning_fee_subtotal": "0",
  "other_fee_subtotal": "0",
  "zoning_fee_waived": "0",
  "other_fee_waived": "0",
  "subtotal_waived": "0",
  "total_fee": "50",
  "contact_1_type": "OTHER CONTRACTOR",
  "contact_1_name": "ACORN ELECTRIC",
  "contact_1_city": "CAROL STREAM",
  "contact_1_state": "IL",
  "contact_1_zipcode": "60188",
  "contact_2_type": "APPLICANT",
  "contact_2_name": "U HAUL",
  "contact_2_city": "CHICAGO",
  "contact_2_state": "IL",
  "contact_2_zipcode": "60639",
  "community_area": "7",
  "census_tract": "70500",
  "ward": "32",
  "xcoordinate": "1167755.604549103",
  "ycoordinate": "1916124.9892167808",
  "latitude": "41.92539401425026",
  "longitude": "-87.6590043996931",
  "location.type": "Point",
  "location.coordinates": [
    -87.659004399693,
    41.92539401425
  ],
  "status": "success",
  "record_id": "1000268",
  "url": null,
  "additional_fields.name": [],
  "additional_fields.value": []
}

Input settings ⚙️

Setting	What to enter
What to collect (mode)	Choose the information you need.
Maximum results per search or link (maxResults)	Collect up to this many saved results for each search or record link. Minimum: 1.
Permit type (permitType)	Choose a permit category or leave blank for all categories.
Issued from (dateFrom)	Include permits issued on or after this date, in YYYY-MM-DD format.
Issued through (dateTo)	Include permits issued on or before this date, in YYYY-MM-DD format.
Permit numbers (recordIds)	Enter one permit number per line. Use this field in Details mode.

Chicago Building Permits scraping use cases 🎯

Find construction and development projects

Search the available permit or planning records and review their published work descriptions, locations and dates.

Track permit and application changes

Compare repeated exports by record ID or permit number. Keep revisions and application statuses separate when assessing changes.

Analyze local development activity

Group records by published location, application type, date or other available fields. Dataset coverage and reporting dates depend on the issuing authority.

Pricing and saved-result behavior 💰

See the Actor’s Pricing tab for the current rate. Under dataset-item pricing:

• Each saved record is one result. Lists and additional details attached to it do not create extra rows.
• A saved failed row is also one billable dataset item. This includes invalid inputs, unavailable records, empty searches and exhausted retries.
• At most one failed row is saved per input. Retry attempts do not create additional dataset rows.
• maxResults caps all saved rows for the input. Duplicate copies of the same input are processed once.

Chicago Building Permits scraper API and integrations 🔌

Replace $ACTOR_ID with the ID shown in the Actor’s API tab and $APIFY_TOKEN with your Apify token.

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/$ACTOR_ID/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode":"search","maxResults":10}'

Use Apify schedules for recurring collection, webhooks for completion notifications, and integrations for Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, cloud storage or your own application.

Reliability and public-data limits ⚠️

Temporary request failures are retried up to five total attempts. Invalid record inputs save a failed row without a website request. Confirmed missing records are not retried unnecessarily. If a later request fails, records already saved remain in the dataset. Normal pagination completion does not add a failed row. Collection stops after two consecutive pages return no new records. Configuration, data-saving or request-scheduling failures stop the run.

Chicago Building Permits controls the available records and fields. Search records can contain less information than a full public card. The Actor preserves published values and does not fill missing facts with estimates.

Frequently asked questions ❓

Do I need a Chicago Building Permits account?

No. This Actor collects the supported public information without your website login.

Which search filters can I use?

The input form supports permit type, issued from, issued through. Only the displayed filters are supported.

How many records can I collect?

Set maxResults to the maximum saved rows you want for each input. The minimum is 1. Collection can finish earlier when the source runs out of results or stops returning new records.

Why are some fields empty?

The source may not publish a value for that record or mode. Optional information remains empty.

Can I export all the fields?

Yes. All returned fields are included in one dataset view. Nested lists remain attached to their parent record.

Support 🛟

For a reproducible issue, share the run ID, selected mode and a safe public example through the Actor’s support channel. Keep tokens, passwords and proxy credentials private.