Solar Leads from Building Permits: FAQ
By Marcus Reeves, Head of Permit Research at PermitGrab · Updated daily from official city records · Last permit filed: today
Building permits are the highest-quality top-of-funnel signal for solar sales: someone is actively spending money on their home, the project is timed (you can match a new roof to your 25-year warranty), and the data is public. PermitGrab tracks permits in real time across 1061 cities with 310,281 permits and 154,583 contractor profiles in the database.
What are permit-based solar leads?
When a homeowner pulls a roof, electrical, or addition permit, that's a homeowner spending money on their home. They're 5-10x more likely to consider solar than someone on a cold list. PermitGrab captures these permits within hours of filing, alongside the property owner's name and assessed home value.
How do building permits help solar companies find customers?
- Roof replacement permits — perfect timing for solar (a new roof matches a 25-year solar warranty)
- Home addition permits — expanding the home means growing the energy bill
- Electrical upgrade permits — often the homeowner is already prepping for solar
- Property value data — filter to homes worth $300K+ where solar ROI makes sense
What cities do you cover for solar leads?
1061 cities and growing weekly. Best coverage in the top markets:
- Miami-Dade County — 4,270 contractors / 3,980 phones / 81K property owners
- San Antonio — 4,626 contractors / 3,836 phones / 4,777 owners
- Chicago — 8,692 contractors / 3,499 phones / 72K owners
- Phoenix — 1,966 contractors / 1,083 phones / 78K owners
- New York City — 4,228 contractors / 793 phones / 12K owners
How fresh is the permit data?
Updated every 30 minutes. Most permits appear in our system within 24-48 hours of being filed at the city. Compare that to aged lead lists weeks or months out of date — by then the homeowner has already chosen a contractor.
Do you provide homeowner contact information?
Yes. Property owner names from permit records and county assessor data (11,863,412 owners across 200 cities), mailing addresses for direct mail campaigns, and contractor phone numbers from state licensing databases (20,856 phones).
How much does it cost?
$149/month for unlimited access. 14-day free trial — no charge for 14 days, cancel anytime. Solar lead vendors charge $20-50 per shared lead; at $149/mo you can pull thousands of permits exclusively. Start free trial →
Can I filter by permit type?
Yes — by trade (electrical, roofing, mechanical, etc.) and by status. Most solar teams focus on roofing and electrical permits as their highest-yield triggers.
How is this different from buying solar leads?
You're not getting a shared lead sold to 5 other solar companies. You're mining the public permit data yourself — exclusive, real-time, and with the full project context (permit type, value, date, contractor) instead of just a name and phone.
Related FAQs: Insurance leads · Real estate investor leads · Contractor leads · General FAQ
Get the Full Solar Leads Database
Every contractor. Every permit. Every violation. Every property owner. Updated daily.
Start Free Trial — $149/mo Browse all cities →More Building Permit Reports
- Insurance Leads from Building Permits: FAQ
- Building Permit Data for Real Estate Investors: FAQ
- Contractor Leads from Building Permits: FAQ
- Construction Supplier Leads from Building Permits: FAQ
- Lead Generation from Building Permits: The Complete FAQ
- Are Building Permits Public Record? How to Look Them Up Free
- How to Find Contractors Who Pulled Building Permits
- Do I Need a Permit to Replace My Roof?
- How Much Do Contractor Leads Cost?
- Permit Data 101: How to Read and Use Building Permit Records
- Building Permit Fees by City — 2026 Comparison
- How Much Does a Certificate of Occupancy Cost in NYC?
- San Jose Building Permit Fees: 2026 Guide
- After-the-Fact Permit Cost: How to Legalize Unpermitted Work
- BuildZoom vs Shovels vs Construction Monitor vs PermitGrab
- How Much Do Solar Leads Cost in 2026? (Full Pricing Breakdown)
- Exclusive vs Shared Solar Leads — Which Actually Converts Better?
- Permit-Based Solar Leads vs Form-Fill Leads — A 2026 Comparison
- How Much Do HVAC Leads Cost in 2026?
- How Much Do Roofing Leads Cost in 2026?
- Storm Damage Leads for Roofers — The Permit Playbook
- Every HVAC Lead Source Compared in 2026
- Every Solar Lead Source Compared in 2026