Vancouver Building Permits Scraper

Extract Vancouver Building Permits building permit records for construction project research, permit monitoring and development analysis. Vancouver 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 Vancouver 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 Vancouver 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": [
    "BP-2026-02677"
  ],
  "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.

Vancouver 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.
projectvalue	Projectvalue, when published.
applicant	Applicant, when published.
geo_point_2d	Geo point 2d, when published.
specificusecategory	Specificusecategory, when published.
propertyuse	Propertyuse, when published.
yearmonth	Yearmonth, when published.
geom.coordinates	Geom / coordinates, when published.
geom.type	Geom / type, when published.
permitnumber	Permitnumber, when published.
typeofwork	Typeofwork, when published.
permitcategory	Permitcategory, when published.
geolocalarea	Geolocalarea, when published.
permitnumbercreateddate	Permitnumbercreateddate, when published.
applicantaddress	Applicantaddress, when published.
issueyear	Issueyear, when published.
permitelapseddays	Permitelapseddays, when published.
projectdescription	Projectdescription, when published.
issuedate	Issuedate, when published.
address	Address, when published.
record_updated_at	Record updated at, when published.
record_id	Stable identifier for the source record.
url	Public source link when the website provides one.
buildingcontractor	Buildingcontractor, when published.
buildingcontractoraddress	Buildingcontractoraddress, when published.
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": "{\"keywords\": null}",
  "projectvalue": 46000.0,
  "applicant": "Rosa Salcido  DBA: Vivid Green Architecture Inc.",
  "geo_point_2d": [
    49.262161,
    -123.1381877
  ],
  "specificusecategory": "General Office",
  "propertyuse": "Office Uses",
  "yearmonth": "2026-09",
  "geom.coordinates": [
    -123.1381877,
    49.262161
  ],
  "geom.type": "Point",
  "permitnumber": "BP-2026-02677",
  "typeofwork": "Addition / Alteration",
  "permitcategory": "Renovation - Commercial/ Mixed Use - Lower Complexity",
  "geolocalarea": "Fairview",
  "permitnumbercreateddate": "2026-08-10",
  "applicantaddress": "Unit 1141 - 11871 Horseshoe Way\r\nRichmond, BC  V7A 5H5",
  "issueyear": "2026",
  "permitelapseddays": 49,
  "projectdescription": "Field Review - Addition / Alteration - #330 - 3rd Flr - demise into #330 and #320. \n\nInterior alterations on the 3rd floor to demise this existing office space at #330 into 2 units to be #330 and #320 in this existing commercial building on site.\n\nScope of work: remove a parititon wall and door and construction of demising wall. \n\n* Separate permit(s) for future tenant improvements to these units. \n\nArchitectural Schedule B submitted by Rosa Salcido, Architect, AIBC., 604.284.4900\n\nBuilding Sprinklered – Building inspector to determine on site if a separate sprinkler permit is required.\n\nEnergy checklist is currently no longer required with your Building Permit (BP) application. Some supporting documents are still required at BP stage, specifically Envelope and HVAC, if applicable. Service Water Heating and Lighting supporting documents, if applicable, must be submitted with your related trades permits (e.g. electrical and plumbing).",
  "issuedate": "2026-09-28",
  "address": "2608 GRANVILLE STREET, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V3",
  "record_updated_at": "2026-09-29T13:49:21.16Z",
  "status": "success",
  "record_id": "BP-2026-02677",
  "url": null,
  "buildingcontractor": null,
  "buildingcontractoraddress": null,
  "additional_fields.name": [],
  "additional_fields.value": []
}

Get permit details — complete JSON result

{
  "result_type": "details",
  "input": "BP-2026-02677",
  "projectvalue": 46000.0,
  "applicant": "Rosa Salcido  DBA: Vivid Green Architecture Inc.",
  "geo_point_2d": [
    49.262161,
    -123.1381877
  ],
  "specificusecategory": "General Office",
  "propertyuse": "Office Uses",
  "yearmonth": "2026-09",
  "geom.coordinates": [
    -123.1381877,
    49.262161
  ],
  "geom.type": "Point",
  "permitnumber": "BP-2026-02677",
  "typeofwork": "Addition / Alteration",
  "permitcategory": "Renovation - Commercial/ Mixed Use - Lower Complexity",
  "geolocalarea": "Fairview",
  "permitnumbercreateddate": "2026-08-10",
  "applicantaddress": "Unit 1141 - 11871 Horseshoe Way\r\nRichmond, BC  V7A 5H5",
  "issueyear": "2026",
  "permitelapseddays": 49,
  "projectdescription": "Field Review - Addition / Alteration - #330 - 3rd Flr - demise into #330 and #320. \n\nInterior alterations on the 3rd floor to demise this existing office space at #330 into 2 units to be #330 and #320 in this existing commercial building on site.\n\nScope of work: remove a parititon wall and door and construction of demising wall. \n\n* Separate permit(s) for future tenant improvements to these units. \n\nArchitectural Schedule B submitted by Rosa Salcido, Architect, AIBC., 604.284.4900\n\nBuilding Sprinklered – Building inspector to determine on site if a separate sprinkler permit is required.\n\nEnergy checklist is currently no longer required with your Building Permit (BP) application. Some supporting documents are still required at BP stage, specifically Envelope and HVAC, if applicable. Service Water Heating and Lighting supporting documents, if applicable, must be submitted with your related trades permits (e.g. electrical and plumbing).",
  "issuedate": "2026-09-28",
  "address": "2608 GRANVILLE STREET, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V3",
  "record_updated_at": "2026-09-29T13:49:21.16Z",
  "status": "success",
  "record_id": "BP-2026-02677",
  "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.
Keywords (keywords)	Words to search for in public permit records. Leave empty to browse all available results.
Permit numbers (recordIds)	Enter one permit number per line. Use this field in Details mode.

Vancouver 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.

Vancouver 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.

Vancouver 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 Vancouver 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 keywords. 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.