Lead lists › Building permit leads
Building permit leads: new construction, roofing, solar and HVAC permits
A building permit is the earliest public sign that a project is about to start, and many cities publish every permit they issue on their open-data portal. The building permit tool reads 47 of those portals and returns them in one format: work type, job value, project address, issue date and the contractor's business name where the city publishes it.
Pair permits with a contractor license list to find the busiest contractors in your area, or use them on their own to reach projects in the window when materials, equipment and subcontractors are being chosen.
Compare the building permit lists
| List | Source | Updated | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building permit leads | Official city and county open-data portals (Socrata, ArcGIS, CKAN, Carto) | Most city feeds update daily; a few (for example Los Angeles) update weekly | $1.50/1,000 |
How to choose and filter
Filter by work category (roofing, solar, HVAC, ADU, pool, new construction, demolition), by state or city, by job value and by issue date. Contractor business names appear where the city publishes them.
Who uses these lists
Leads for commercial cleaning companies
Leads for janitorial and commercial cleaning companies: newly opened businesses, new construction permits for post-construction cleanup, and federal janitorial bids.
Leads for building material suppliers
Leads for lumber, electrical, plumbing and HVAC suppliers and equipment rental: newly licensed contractors and active building permits by city and trade.
Leads for solar, roofing and HVAC companies
Solar, roofing and HVAC leads from official building permit data in 47 cities, plus HVAC and electrical contractor license lists for partnering and recruiting.
Frequently asked questions
Which cities are covered?
47 cities and counties across 20 states and DC, including Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Boston, Philadelphia, Nashville, Orlando, Miami-Dade County and all of New Jersey. The tool page lists every feed.
How current are the permits?
Most city feeds update daily; a few, such as Los Angeles, update weekly.
Can I see who the contractor is?
Yes, where the city publishes it. Many cities include the contractor's business name on each permit; homeowner names are not returned.
How much do the lists cost?
Between $0.90 and $3 per 1,000 records depending on the list, paid per result. Apify's free plan ($5 a month in credit, no credit card) covers 1,600 to 5,500 records a month.
Guides and walkthroughs
- California Solar Permit Leads: Pull Every New Solar Install from County Open Data (Python)
- Solar, Roofing and HVAC Leads from Building Permits: A How-To with 30 Days of Real Data
- How to Pull Building Permits from Any US City's Open-Data API (Socrata, ArcGIS, CKAN) in Python
- Texas Building Permit Leads: 10,910 Permits from Austin, San Antonio, Collin County and More
- Turning Contractor Registrations and Building Permits into a Sales Pipeline
Other lists: New business leads · Contractor leads · Government contract leads · Leads by industry