PERMIT SEARCH · 202 US MARKETS
Every building permit, searchable.
Search 7,916,901 public building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical permits across 202 US cities and counties — by company, address, permit type or date. Set an alert on new permits and reach a project before it reaches the bid list.
WHAT THE APP DOES
From a public record
to your next deal.
Search the full history
Every permit in a market, back to the first year the authority published — by company, address, permit type or date range.
Filter by trade
Building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical and fire-protection permits, as the issuing authority classified them.
Alerts as deal signals
Save a search and get an email when a new permit matches: a competitor's next job, a new plumbing permit in your ZIP codes, a builder starting another project.
Export to CSV
Take results into your CRM or spreadsheet and work them with your team.
START FREE
Try it on your own market.
A free account searches the newest 7 days of records in every market, with 10 searches a day and 1 daily alert. Full history, CSV export and instant alerts come with paid plans from $49 a month — $24.50 for the first 3 months.
Create a free account → Compare plansCOVERED MARKETS
Largest markets on record.
- Chicago, IL791,122 permits since 2006
- Austin, TX480,619 permits since 2019
- Seattle, WA461,664 permits since 2015
- Washington, DC437,724 permits since 2015
- Columbus, OH360,289 permits since 2015
- New York, NY348,610 permits since 2019
- Boston, MA346,725 permits since 2015
- Minneapolis, MN340,194 permits since 2016
- New Orleans, LA276,249 permits since 2015
- Philadelphia, PA230,929 permits since 2021
- Orlando, FL230,129 permits since 2019
- Baltimore, MD225,016 permits since 2019
- Los Angeles County, CA220,014 permits since 2015
- Kansas City, MO209,645 permits since 2015
- Miami, FL190,810 permits since 2015
- Cleveland, OH177,250 permits since 2015
THE RESEARCH BEHIND IT
What comes after a permit.
Beyond search, we measure which trade tends to follow the permits you can see today, and when — market by market, with the sample behind every number.
PHILADELPHIA · MECHANICAL
MEASURED64.5%
of projects reach a mechanical permit within 90 days after plumbing, electrical and fire protection are recorded.
A historical frequency across the full record, not a prediction about one address. The per-project signal is held back until it clears a prospective check. What that means →
View the market evidence →THREE QUESTIONS, ONE TIMELINE
Know the next move.
Not just the last permit.
What
Which trade tends to follow the project state you can see today.
When
The local time window, based on the market’s own historical rhythm.
Who
The companies with documented working relationships on prior projects.
NO NATIONAL BLACK BOX
Each market earns its own claim.
Permit systems differ. Trade sequences differ. Timing differs. That is why Projects Ahead publishes a local sample, a horizon and the issuing authority next to every number.
Read the researchKEY TAKEAWAYS
Key takeaways from the public record.
Our research shows that a project sequence is more useful than a single permit. In Philadelphia, when plumbing, electrical and fire-protection permits appear before mechanical work, a mechanical permit follows within 90 days in 64.5% of cases (n = 2,925). That is a historical observation from one market, not a promise about one address. The underlying records come from the issuing authority; the national authority universe is maintained by the U.S. Census Building Permits Survey.
- Sequence beats activity alone. The order and combination of visible trades matter more than the fact that a project has a permit.
- Timing is local. Philadelphia, Austin and New York reach their next events on different schedules, so we do not publish a national accuracy score.
- Evidence stays attached. Each market page states the jurisdiction, time horizon and sample rather than hiding them behind a composite score.
That distinction matters for responsible outreach: use a signal to decide where to look first, then verify the project against the issuing authority before acting. Read the measured comparison.
A MEASURED COMPARISON
The pattern travels. The clock does not.
The same general idea appears in three permit systems, but the useful sequence and timing are local. Philadelphia reaches the strongest recorded mechanical transition in 65.2% of matched projects within 90 days. Austin reaches 49.9% with a different trade sequence, while New York reaches 32.3% with another. This is why Projects Ahead treats a jurisdiction as the unit of evidence, not a decorative location label.
| Market | Measured sequence | 90-day rate | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | Plumbing + electrical + fire → mechanical | 65.2% | 2,888 |
| Austin | Plumbing + electrical → mechanical | 49.9% | 37,004 |
| New York | Plumbing + fire + general → mechanical | 32.3% | 3,905 |
A PLAIN ANSWER
What is Projects Ahead?
Projects Ahead is construction intelligence for every trade and the businesses that sell to them. It reconstructs the timeline around a physical project, measures what commonly happens next in that specific market, and shows the evidence needed to inspect the claim. Mechanical work in Philadelphia is the first measured use case, not a limit on the product. It is not a lead list, a national prediction engine or a guarantee of work.
About the company and methodCONCLUSION
Start with evidence. Then do the work.
Projects Ahead is useful when it narrows a large public record into a smaller, explainable research queue. It should never replace permit verification, contractor qualification or a commercial judgment. The practical advantage is earlier context: a team can understand the sequence around a project before the next permit makes the opportunity obvious to everyone else.
BUILT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION ECONOMY
Make your next outreach
more timely.
For every specialty contractor and for distributors, manufacturers’ representatives, rental, finance, insurance, staffing and other businesses that sell into construction.
Find your use case →