Shovels collects permit data directly from city and county jurisdictions—we don’t purchase data from third-party vendors. We gather data through relationships with local governments, integration with online permitting portals, and public records requests. This direct sourcing ensures data quality and freshness.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.shovels.ai/llms.txt
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Primary Collection Methods
Direct from Jurisdictions
We collect data through:- Relationships with local governments
- Integration with online permitting portals
- Public records requests where needed
Digital Methods
- Jurisdiction website scraping
- Municipal open data portal integration
- Building department API connections
Offline Methods
- Calling jurisdiction offices
- Submitting formal records requests
We get data straight from the source—we don’t purchase permit data from other vendors.
Supplementary Sources
Address Standardization
We cross-reference addresses against:- National Address Dataset (US Census)
- Open Address dataset
- Simple Maps
- ESRI
Contractor Verification
We match contractor information against:- Publicly available state license files
- Business registration records
Property Information
We enhance property data using:- Tax assessor records
Why Direct Sourcing Matters
By collecting directly from jurisdictions, we:- Get the most current data available
- Control data quality from the start
- Standardize across different formats
- Maintain consistent update schedules