# England Scrap Metal Dealer Licence Change Signals (`starshaped_bullsnake/england-scrap-metal-dealer-licence-change-signals`) Actor

Monitor the official England Scrap Metal Dealers register for licence lifecycle changes.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/starshaped\_bullsnake/england-scrap-metal-dealer-licence-change-signals.md
- **Developed by:** [Starshape Tools](https://apify.com/starshaped_bullsnake) (community)
- **Categories:** Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $30.00 / 1,000 scrap metal dealer licence change signals

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

## England Scrap Metal Dealer Licence Change Signals

Monitors the official Environment Agency-hosted [Register of Scrap Metal Dealers](https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-scrap-metal-dealers). Live runs use the paginated default JSON collection; no per-registration detail fan-out is performed. Local authorities supply the data to the Environment Agency weekly and published dataset metadata describes a monthly cadence; timing remains controlled by the publishers.

### Identity and signals

One registration resource is one licence entity. The final `@id` path segment is the stable `registrationId`; licence number alone is not used. Site addresses are a canonical set, so reordering, whitespace, case, postcode spacing, and exact duplicates do not create signals.

Implemented signals are `LICENCE_ADDED`, `LICENCE_STATUS_CHANGED`, `EXPIRY_DATE_CHANGED`, `LICENCE_TYPE_CHANGED`, `HOLDER_DETAILS_CHANGED`, `SITE_SET_CHANGED`, and `LICENCE_NO_LONGER_LISTED`. The current live collection exposes no explicit status value, so the Actor does not claim a typed revocation signal. If the official schema later supplies a status, literal status changes can use the implemented generic status signal.

One entity transition produces at most one signal with `changedFields`, `before`, and `after`. A missing record is not called revoked, expired, or closed; it becomes `LICENCE_NO_LONGER_LISTED` only after two consecutive complete, validated snapshots omit it.

### Baseline, safety, and privacy

The first successful live run stores a full baseline and emits zero signals. Blank/duplicate registration IDs, blank licence numbers, failed pagination, near-empty results, major count collapse, or large-scale local-authority disappearance stop the run with no business signals and no snapshot mutation. Dataset and summary writes complete before snapshot commit.

`mode=sample` demonstrates changes through production transition logic without external HTTP or production snapshot access. Output is limited to public holder/business names, licence metadata, local authority, and public Site-licence addresses. Collector address absence is preserved; the Actor performs no address inference or contact, DOB, Companies House, director, or officer enrichment.

Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency copyright and database right 2026, licensed under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/). The generic JSON API metadata may display the Conditional Licence; the [dataset-specific official record](https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/6e252130-d465-11e4-ba95-f0def148f590) and [Public Registers licence page](https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/data-licence) identify Scrap Metal Dealers as OGL. This Actor is a monitoring aid, not legal advice.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

Live official comparison or an isolated sample demonstration.

## `signalTypes` (type: `array`):

Optional signal-type filter.

## `registrationIds` (type: `array`):

Optional official registration ID filter.

## `localAuthorities` (type: `array`):

Optional case-insensitive local-authority filter.

## `baselineOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Refresh the validated baseline without business signals.

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

Dataset output limit; the full validated snapshot is retained.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "sample",
  "baselineOnly": false,
  "maxItems": 30
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `OUTPUT` (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 = {
    "mode": "sample",
    "maxItems": 30
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("starshaped_bullsnake/england-scrap-metal-dealer-licence-change-signals").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 = {
    "mode": "sample",
    "maxItems": 30,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("starshaped_bullsnake/england-scrap-metal-dealer-licence-change-signals").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 '{
  "mode": "sample",
  "maxItems": 30
}' |
apify call starshaped_bullsnake/england-scrap-metal-dealer-licence-change-signals --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,starshaped_bullsnake/england-scrap-metal-dealer-licence-change-signals"
        }
    }
}
```

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/4xhVVRCYPXbhXwwW0/builds/d3nyJF7Mq97ciPkjd/openapi.json