Name: US Building Permits API: Search 10 City Records
Brand: cblu
SKU: api-cblu-us-building-permits-search
Availability: InStock
Author: API Market

# US Building Permits API

## Overview

Search live building permit records from ten official US city and county open-data portals through one endpoint and one normalized JSON schema. Every call queries the cities own open-data APIs directly, so results reflect each source's current publishing cadence rather than a stale internal copy.

Covered sources: New York City (DOB NOW approved permits), Chicago, Los Angeles (permits issued 2020 onward), Austin, San Francisco, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Montgomery County MD (residential and commercial feeds), and Norfolk VA.

Each record is normalized to a common shape covering permit number, type and class, work description, status, applied and issued dates, job site address, declared valuation, square footage, fees, and contractor name and license where the source publishes them. Coverage of individual fields varies by city, since not every open-data portal publishes valuation or contractor information.

## Features

- **Ten official sources in one schema**, no need to learn each city's own API
- **Live queries**, every call reads directly from the source open-data portal
- **Flexible filtering** by issued-date window, permit type substring, full-text search, and minimum valuation
- **Consistent fields** for permit number, status, dates, address, valuation, and contractor where published
- **Source traceability**, every record includes the exact open-data resource it came from

## Use Cases

- **Contractor and supplier lead generation** from newly issued permits by trade
- **Construction market analytics** across multiple metros in one query pattern
- **Property intelligence** enrichment using recent permit activity at an address
- **Insurance underwriting** checks against recent construction or renovation work

## Pricing

Access is billed through API.market according to the plan you choose. Because each call runs a live query against the source portals, response time is typically 5 to 30 seconds, plan your integration's timeout accordingly.

## API Documentation

### Base URL

```text
https://prod.api.market/api/v1/cblu/us-building-permits-search
```

### Authentication

Every request must include your API.market key in the `x-api-market-key` header.

```text
x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY
```

### Endpoints

#### `POST /acts/e77b8FHvAL0b8Du1A/run-sync-get-dataset-items`

Runs a live query against the selected cities open-data APIs and returns matching permit records as a JSON array.

**Request body**

| Field | Type | Required | Description |
| :---- | :--- | :------- | :---------- |
| `cities` | `array<string>` | Yes | Which sources to query. Max 2 cities per call, make one call per pair to cover more. Allowed: `new-york-city`, `chicago`, `los-angeles`, `austin`, `san-francisco`, `new-orleans`, `baton-rouge`, `montgomery-county-md-residential`, `montgomery-county-md-commercial`, `norfolk-va`. |
| `issuedAfter` | `string` | No | Only permits issued on or after this date (`YYYY-MM-DD`). Set to last week for a fresh construction leads feed. |
| `issuedBefore` | `string` | No | Only permits issued on or before this date (`YYYY-MM-DD`). |
| `maxResultsPerCity` | `integer` | No | Maximum records to return per selected city. Default `25`. |
| `minValuation` | `integer` | No | Only permits with a declared project value at or above this amount (USD). Permits with no published valuation are excluded when this is set. |
| `permitTypeContains` | `string` | No | Case-insensitive substring match against permit type, class, or work type, for example `roof`, `electrical`, `plumbing`. |
| `searchQuery` | `string` | No | Full-text search across the source dataset, runs server-side on the open-data portal, for example `solar`, `pool`, `ADU`, `demolition`. |

**Example request**

```bash
curl -X POST "https://prod.api.market/api/v1/cblu/us-building-permits-search/acts/e77b8FHvAL0b8Du1A/run-sync-get-dataset-items" \
     -H "x-api-market-key: YOUR_API_MARKET_KEY" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"cities":["austin","chicago"],"permitTypeContains":"roof","issuedAfter":"2026-07-01","maxResultsPerCity":25}'
```

**Example response**

```json
[
  {
    "city": "Chicago, IL",
    "cityKey": "chicago",
    "state": "IL",
    "permitNumber": "B200480481",
    "permitType": "PERMIT - EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM",
    "permitClass": "EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM",
    "workType": "Reroofing",
    "description": "SCOPE: ROOF REPLACEMENT. AREA: 800 SQ. FT. ROOF COVERING: BUILT-UP ROOF. LOCATION: FRONT AND BACK CANOPY.",
    "status": "ACTIVE",
    "appliedDate": "2026-07-29",
    "issuedDate": "2026-08-03",
    "expirationDate": null,
    "address": "1660 N LA SALLE DR",
    "zip": null,
    "valuation": 19572,
    "squareFootage": null,
    "fees": 450,
    "contractorName": "CLARK ROOFING COMPANY",
    "contractorLicense": null,
    "applicantName": "CLARK ROOFING COMPANY",
    "ownerName": null,
    "latitude": 41.912864,
    "longitude": -87.633292,
    "sourceDataset": "https://data.cityofchicago.org/resource/ydr8-5enu"
  }
]
```

**Response fields**

| Field | Type | Description |
| :---- | :--- | :---------- |
| `city` | `string` | Human-readable source city/county label. |
| `cityKey` | `string` | The city key used in the request. |
| `state` | `string` | Two-letter US state code of the source. |
| `permitNumber` | `string` | Permit / job filing number as issued by the city. |
| `permitType` / `permitClass` / `workType` | `string | null` | Permit categorization, normalized from the source's own naming where possible. |
| `description` | `string | null` | Work description as filed. |
| `status` | `string | null` | Current permit status as published by the source. |
| `appliedDate` / `issuedDate` / `expirationDate` | `string | null` | ISO dates for filing, issuance, and expiration, when published. |
| `address` / `zip` | `string | null` | Job site location. |
| `valuation` | `number | null` | Declared project value in USD, when published. |
| `squareFootage` | `number | null` | Project square footage, when published. |
| `fees` | `number | null` | Permit fees in USD, when published. |
| `contractorName` / `contractorLicense` | `string | null` | Contractor or permittee identity, when published. |
| `applicantName` / `ownerName` | `string | null` | Filer and property owner, when published. |
| `latitude` / `longitude` | `number | null` | Coordinates, when the source geocodes the record. |
| `sourceDataset` | `string` | The exact open-data API resource the record was read from. |

## Status Codes

| Code | Meaning |
| :--- | :------ |
| `200` / `201` | Request succeeded, the body is an array of matching permit records. Some gateway configurations return 201 for this endpoint. |
| `400` | Invalid input, check that `cities` is present and every value matches an allowed source. |
| `401` | The API key is missing or not valid. |
| `408` | The query did not finish within the 300 second synchronous limit. Narrow the date range, add a `permitTypeContains` or `searchQuery` filter, or lower `maxResultsPerCity` and retry. |
| `429` | You have exceeded the request rate or the quota included in your plan. |

## Rate Limits

Rate limits and monthly quotas are set by your API.market plan. Each call is a live query against up to two source portals and typically takes 5 to 30 seconds, so set a client timeout of at least 60 seconds and avoid firing requests faster than the response time of the previous call.

## Error Handling

Not every city publishes every field. `valuation`, `contractorName`, `squareFootage` and similar fields are `null` rather than omitted when a source does not report them, always check for `null` before using these values. If a query is too broad to finish in time, you will receive a 408, narrowing the request with a date range or a type filter resolves this rather than requiring a retry loop.

## FAQ

**Why did my request only return results for one of the two cities I asked for?**

Each city's result count depends on how many permits actually match your filters in that source. If one city has no matching permits for the given date range or type, only the other city's records are returned. This is expected, not an error.

**Can I query more than two cities in one call?**

No, the `cities` array is limited to two values per call. Make one call per pair of cities you want to cover.

**How fresh is the data?**

Every call queries each city's open-data API live. Freshness matches that city's own publishing cadence, most sources update daily.

**Why is a field `null` for some records?**

Not every source publishes every field. Valuation and contractor information in particular are not reported by all ten sources for all permit types.

**What happens if my query is too broad?**

Calls have a 300 second synchronous limit. A very broad query, for example a wide date range with no type filter, can exceed this and return a 408. Add a `permitTypeContains` or `searchQuery` filter, or narrow `issuedAfter` / `issuedBefore`, to keep the query fast.

**Which coverage limitations should I know about?**

Los Angeles covers permits issued 2020 onward. The New York City feed covers DOB NOW approved permits specifically. Not every city publishes valuations or contractor names for every permit.

## Contact Us

If you have any questions or need assistance, you can reach out to us through the embedded chat on the bottom right corner of the page or send an email to hello@magicapi.com.

Search live building permit data from 10 US cities and counties in one normalized JSON schema. Filter by issue date, permit type, and project valuation.

US Building Permits API: Search 10 City Records

Free