| City | Permits filed | High-priority | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City | 1,404 | 633 | View → |
| Chicago | 272 | 60 | View → |
| San Francisco | 269 | 17 | View → |
| Miami-Dade | 123 | 32 | View → |
| Total | 2,068 | 742 |
Based on public permit filings reviewed by PermitPipeline. High-priority means graded A+ or A for contractor fit. Counts reflect available filing data and PermitPipeline's active-project rules as of the updated date.
What building permit leads are
Building permit leads are construction projects identified from public permit filings. Every major city publishes permit data, and each new filing is an early signal that a project is moving forward. The work is turning that raw data into a short list of opportunities that match your business. In New York, that means turning DOB filings into ranked NYC permit filings a contractor can actually act on.
What is in a permit filing
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Address and jurisdiction | Is it in your service area? |
| Filing date and status | How early you are, and where the project sits in review. |
| Owner / applicant | Who is driving the project. |
| Architect | Often named early; a path to the project. |
| Scope and declared value | Type and rough size of the work. |
| Contractor / permittee | Whether a GC is named yet. |
How a filing becomes a lead
- A permit is filed and becomes public record.
- The fields above are read and scored for fit, timing, scope, and trade.
- The strongest matches are surfaced to you, before the project is obvious to everyone.
- You research the owner or architect with a specific, well-timed message.
Filed vs issued, and why timing matters
A filed permit that has not issued yet is still in review, which usually means the team may still be forming. Once it issues, the opportunity becomes harder to enter. See how filing-to-issuance timelines compare by city.
Where the data comes from
PermitPipeline reads public filings from the NYC Department of Buildings, the City of Chicago, San Francisco DBI on DataSF, and Miami-Dade county and city feeds, then turns them into scored construction leads.
Frequently asked
What are building permit leads?
Building permit leads are construction projects identified from public permit filings. Each new filing shows address, owner, architect, scope, value, and status, which can be scored into an early lead for contractors.
Are building permit leads the same as construction leads?
They are the source. Building permit data is the mechanism; the construction lead is the scored, qualified opportunity that comes out of it.
How current is the data?
PermitPipeline reads city permit feeds regularly. Freshness and available fields vary by jurisdiction.
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| Signal | What it can suggest | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| New filing | a project is real and recent | that it is open or awarded |
| No GC named | a GC may not be visible yet | that no GC has been hired |
| Declared value | rough project size | final contract value |
| Scope language | likely trades and work | exact packages or timing |