# US Building Permits Scraper — Multi-City Construction Leads (`vivar_bolivar/us-building-permits-aggregator`) Actor Fresh building permits from official open-data APIs of NYC, Chicago, LA, SF, Seattle & Austin, normalized into one analysis-ready schema. Built for construction lead gen: contractors, valuations, addresses, geocodes. - **URL**: https://apify.com/vivar\_bolivar/us-building-permits-aggregator.md - **Developed by:** [Vivar Bolivar](https://apify.com/vivar_bolivar) (community) - **Categories:** Real estate, Lead generation, Developer tools - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing $2.50 / 1,000 permit scrapeds 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## US Building Permits Scraper — Multi-City Construction Leads Get **freshly issued building permits from 6 major US cities in one run, in one clean schema**. Solar installers, roofers, HVAC companies, suppliers, and lead-gen teams use new permits to reach property owners and follow contractor activity the week work is approved — weeks before traditional permit-lead brokers deliver their lists. This Actor pulls directly from each city's **official open-data portal** (no fragile HTML scraping), normalizes every record into the same analysis-ready JSON, and returns permits issued as recently as **yesterday** for most cities. ### Cities covered (v1) | City | Source (official open data) | Typical freshness | Contractor info | Geocodes | |---|---|---|---|---| | New York City | DOB NOW: Build — Approved Permits | 1–3 days | ✅ name + license | ✅ | | Chicago | Chicago Data Portal — Building Permits | 1–2 days | ✅ name | ✅ | | San Francisco | DataSF — Building Permits | 1–2 days | — (not published) | ✅ | | Austin | Austin Open Data — Issued Construction Permits | 1–2 days | ✅ name (most) | partial | | Seattle | Seattle Open Data — Building Permits | 1–2 days | partial | ✅ | | Los Angeles | LADBS — Permits Issued 2020–Present | **~2–4 week lag** (city-side) | — (not published) | ✅ | More cities are added on request — open an issue with the city you need. ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `cities` | array | all 6 | Any of `nyc`, `chicago`, `la`, `sf`, `seattle`, `austin` | | `issuedSince` | string | last 7 days | `YYYY-MM-DD`; only permits issued on/after this date | | `maxRecordsPerCity` | integer | 500 | Hard cap per city, 1–5000 | | `permitClass` | string | `all` | `residential` / `commercial`; unclassified permits are always included | > **Tip for LA:** because the city publishes with a lag, use `issuedSince` ≥ 30 days back or you may get zero LA records (the other five cities are day-fresh). ### Output One JSON object per permit, identical schema across all cities: ```json { "permit_id": "B200473293", "city": "Chicago", "state": "IL", "permit_type": "PERMIT - EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM", "permit_class": "unknown", "work_description": "TUCKPOINTING AND UNIT MASONRY REPAIR / REPLACEMENT: 800 SQ. FT.", "status": "ACTIVE", "filed_date": "2026-06-04", "issued_date": "2026-06-08", "address": "4700 W MONTROSE AVE", "zip_code": "60641", "latitude": 41.961, "longitude": -87.741, "valuation": 12000.0, "contractor_name": "ACME MASONRY LLC", "contractor_license": null, "owner_name": "LLC 4510 CLARK", "source_dataset": "https://data.cityofchicago.org/resource/ydr8-5enu", "source_record_url": null, "fetched_at": "2026-06-09T18:00:00+00:00" } ```` Fields a city doesn't publish are `null` (see the coverage table above) — your pipeline gets a stable schema either way. ### Cost of a typical run Pulling permits from official JSON APIs is fast and cheap: a full 6-city run capped at 500 permits/city (~3,000 records) completes in well under a minute on the smallest memory setting. You pay per permit scraped — see the pricing tab. A typical weekly all-cities pull costs a few dollars; there are **no proxy surcharges** because government open-data portals don't block. ### Known limitations - **LA lags** ~2–4 weeks behind real issuance (the city's publishing cadence, not ours). - `permit_class` is `unknown` where a city doesn't classify permits (NYC, Chicago); the `permitClass` filter never drops unclassified records. - SF and LA do not publish contractor names in their permit datasets. - Valuation is missing on permit types some cities don't cost (e.g., many trade permits). - Data quality is the city's: occasional missing geocodes (Austin ~50%) or typos pass through as-is; we normalize structure, not truth. ### Changelog - **0.1** (2026-06-09) — initial release: NYC, Chicago, LA, SF, Seattle, Austin; unified schema; residential/commercial filter; per-city caps with graceful partial-failure handling. # Actor input Schema ## `cities` (type: `array`): Which cities to pull permits from. Default: all six. ## `issuedSince` (type: `string`): Only permits issued on/after this date. Default: last 7 days. Older dates return more records — mind your per-city cap. ## `maxRecordsPerCity` (type: `integer`): Hard cap per city per run (1–5000). Default 500. ## `permitClass` (type: `string`): Filter to residential or commercial permits where the city provides a classification. Permits the city does not classify are always included. ## Actor input object example ```json { "cities": [ "nyc", "chicago", "la", "sf", "seattle", "austin" ], "maxRecordsPerCity": 500, "permitClass": "all" } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `permits` (type: `string`): All scraped permits in the unified schema (one JSON object per permit) # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("vivar_bolivar/us-building-permits-aggregator").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("vivar_bolivar/us-building-permits-aggregator").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).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 vivar_bolivar/us-building-permits-aggregator --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=vivar_bolivar/us-building-permits-aggregator", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "US Building Permits Scraper — Multi-City Construction Leads", "description": "Fresh building permits from official open-data APIs of NYC, Chicago, LA, SF, Seattle & Austin, normalized into one analysis-ready schema. Built for construction lead gen: contractors, valuations, addresses, geocodes.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "Ig3W41KuIePcRSk2p" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/vivar_bolivar~us-building-permits-aggregator/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-vivar_bolivar-us-building-permits-aggregator", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/vivar_bolivar~us-building-permits-aggregator/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-vivar_bolivar-us-building-permits-aggregator", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/vivar_bolivar~us-building-permits-aggregator/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-vivar_bolivar-us-building-permits-aggregator", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "cities": { "title": "Cities", "type": "array", "description": "Which cities to pull permits from. Default: all six.", "items": { "type": "string", "enum": [ "nyc", "chicago", "la", "sf", "seattle", "austin" ], "enumTitles": [ "New York City", "Chicago", "Los Angeles", "San Francisco", "Seattle", "Austin" ] }, "default": [ "nyc", "chicago", "la", "sf", "seattle", "austin" ] }, "issuedSince": { "title": "Issued since (YYYY-MM-DD)", "pattern": "^\\d{4}-\\d{2}-\\d{2}$", "type": "string", "description": "Only permits issued on/after this date. Default: last 7 days. Older dates return more records — mind your per-city cap." }, "maxRecordsPerCity": { "title": "Max records per city", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 5000, "type": "integer", "description": "Hard cap per city per run (1–5000). Default 500.", "default": 500 }, "permitClass": { "title": "Permit class filter", "enum": [ "all", "residential", "commercial" ], "type": "string", "description": "Filter to residential or commercial permits where the city provides a classification. Permits the city does not classify are always included.", "default": "all" } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```