Is this tool really free?

Yes. The permit freshness checker is free, requires no signup, and has no usage limits. PermitGrab's paid product adds scheduled alerts, exports, and access to verified contractor contact fields where available; the free tool helps anyone inspect data coverage before subscribing.

Where does the data come from?

Official municipal and county building-permit feeds. We index public Socrata, ArcGIS, CKAN, Accela, and similar portals. Each record is a public-record filing, and the market result shows the newest source date available to PermitGrab.

Can I embed this widget on my site?

Yes. Copy the iframe snippet at the bottom of this page and drop it into your contractor or real-estate website. The widget reports the market's latest available permit count, source date, and contractor count where the source publishes it. Backlinks welcome.

Which cities are available?

The selector lists markets whose current records support this tool. Availability can change when an official source moves, delays publication, or changes its public fields.

Free Building Permit Checker

Check the latest available permit-filing volume + contractor profile coverage in supported U.S. cities. Free, no signup, no usage limits. Built from PermitGrab's documented public-source methodology.

Want to explore covered markets and available contact fields?

$149/month. Each city page shows its newest source date; contact and owner fields vary by public source. 14-day trial; Card on file for this checkout path.

Start 14-day trial →

Embed this checker on your site

Copy + paste this snippet. The widget shows the latest source-backed permit and contractor counts available for that city.

<iframe src="https://permitgrab.com/tools/permit-check/embed" width="100%" height="380" style="border:1px solid #e5e7eb;border-radius:12px"></iframe>

Data comes from official municipal permit feeds (Socrata / ArcGIS / CKAN) maintained by issuing authorities. PermitGrab refreshes the index as those sources publish. Public-record permits are aggregated and normalized; we do not modify or annotate the underlying records.