What is building permit data?

A building permit is the approval a city or county gives before construction, renovation, demolition or trade work. Permit data records what work was approved, where, when, for how much and by whom.

Where does the permit data come from?

From the permit records that city and county building offices publish. Each permit links to its published record.

Can I get alerts when a new permit is filed?

Yes. Add sites to a list and monitor it. New permits on those places arrive as events and webhooks within a day of being published.

How much does permit data cost?

A search costs 1 credit per 20 results. The free plan includes 500 credits and 1 monitored site, with no credit card.

Building permit data and API

Building permits: 11,347,736
Counties and cities: 58

Permit record fields

Permit: Permit number, type, status, description of the work, the office that issued it
Property: The parcels the permit concerns, and the addresses on the permit
Dates: Application date, issue date, decision date, expiration date, completion date
People: Contractors, owners, applicants, architects and engineers, with their company and license number
Value and fees: Declared value of the work, and fees by category: building, zoning, plan review and impact
Decision: Issued or refused, with any conditions of approval
Source: A link to the published record, and the date it was retrieved

Sample record

A building permit as the API returns it.

Example

{
  "object": "permit",
  "id": "pmt_01m4pstwmxe0trf81tjxa3wb37",
  "number": "BLDR-012345-2026",
  "type": {
    "code": "Residential Building",
    "description": "Residential Building, Single Family Dwelling"
  },
  "status": { "code": "Issued", "description": "Issued" },
  "jurisdiction": {
    "name": "Wake",
    "type": "county",
    "fips": "37183"
  },
  "description": "New single-family dwelling, 2 stories, attached garage",
  "parcels": [
    { "id": "prc_01m49rrj17etps2ttb747fc08k", "number": "0782245120" }
  ],
  "parties": [
    { "name": "EXAMPLE BUILDERS LLC", "role": "contractor", "license": "NC-12345" }
  ],
  "dates": {
    "applied": "2026-08-04",
    "issued": "2026-08-21"
  },
  "valuation": { "amount": 385000, "currency": "USD" },
  "fees": [
    { "category": "Building", "total": 1840, "paid": 1840, "currency": "USD" }
  ],
  "as_of": "2026-10-12"
}

Building permit coverage

Access

Explorer

See the permits on a parcel, and watch your sites for new ones.

Explorer

API

Search permits by address, area or county, or get a webhook when one is filed.

API

MCP server

Give Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor the permit records.

MCP server

Frequently asked questions

What is building permit data?: A building permit is the approval a city or county gives before construction, renovation, demolition or trade work. Permit data records what work was approved, where, when, for how much and by whom.
Where does the permit data come from?: From the permit records that city and county building offices publish. Each permit links to its published record.
Can I get alerts when a new permit is filed?: Yes. Add sites to a list and monitor it. New permits on those places arrive as events and webhooks within a day of being published.
How much does permit data cost?: A search costs 1 credit per 20 results. The free plan includes 500 credits and 1 monitored site, with no credit card.