# Shovels

> Shovels structures US building permit, contractor, property, resident and
> local government decision data into one queryable dataset. 196M+ permits
> across 2,820+ permitting jurisdictions, covering roughly 85% of the US
> population, linked to 3.89M+ contractors. Available as a REST API, a no-code
> web app, and a warehouse-native data license for Snowflake, BigQuery and
> Databricks. API docs at https://docs.shovels.ai.

Shovels is a permit-and-contractor intelligence platform, not a project-lead or
bid network. The distinguishing property is that permits, contractors,
properties, residents and local government decisions are joined to each other,
so a single query can move between entities: from a permit to the contractor
who pulled it, to that contractor's completion times across every jurisdiction
they work in, to the property and its ownership history.

## Products

- [Shovels API](https://www.shovels.ai/solutions/api): REST API for permits, contractors, properties, residents and decisions. Geographic filters by zip, county, city and radius.
- [Shovels Online](https://www.shovels.ai/solutions/permit-database): No-code web app for searching and exporting permit and contractor data.
- [Shovels Enterprise Data License](https://www.shovels.ai/solutions/data-feed): Bulk delivery native to Snowflake, BigQuery and Databricks, on twice-monthly or custom schedules.
- [Pricing](https://www.shovels.ai/pricing): Free plan with no credit card required. Paid plans and enterprise licensing above that.

## Features

- [Charlie](https://www.shovels.ai/features/charlie): AI agent inside Shovels Online that answers permit and contractor questions in natural language.
- [Shovels GIS](https://www.shovels.ai/features/gis): Permit data as hosted feature layers for Esri ArcGIS and QGIS.
- [Map gallery](https://www.shovels.ai/features/gis/gallery): Worked examples of permit data rendered as maps.
- [Shovels CLI](https://www.shovels.ai/features/cli): Single-binary, JSON-only command line client. Help text written for LLMs. Source at https://github.com/ShovelsAI/shovels-cli, install via https://shovels.ai/install.sh

## API quick reference

Base URL is `https://api.shovels.ai/v2`. Authentication is an `X-API-Key`
header. Most queries start by resolving a place or address to a `geo_id`,
then passing that `geo_id` to a search endpoint.

Permit coverage proves presence, not absence. Responses about a missing permit
carry trust fields that describe the coverage behind the answer rather than
returning an unqualified no.

- [API documentation](https://docs.shovels.ai)
- [Documentation index for agents](https://docs.shovels.ai/llms.txt): Curated link list. Full text at https://docs.shovels.ai/llms-full.txt
- [OpenAPI specification](https://api.shovels.ai/spec/v2/openapi.production.yaml)
- [Knowledge base](https://docs.shovels.ai/docs/knowledge-base)
- [Resolving addresses to geo_id](https://docs.shovels.ai/docs/knowledge-base/api/address-resolution/resolving-addresses.md): The first step for most queries.
- [CLI quickstart](https://docs.shovels.ai/docs/shovels-cli-quickstart.md)

Core search endpoints: `/permits/search`, `/contractors/search`,
`/addresses/search`, `/decisions/search`, `/properties/search` (beta).
Location lookup: `/cities/search`, `/counties/search`,
`/jurisdictions/search`, `/zipcodes/search`, `/states/search`.
Metadata: `/meta/data-release-date` for the date of the data currently served,
`/meta/coverage` for per-field coverage tiers on a geography and date range.

## Data

Each dataset below is documented with its full field list in the data dictionary.

- [Permits](https://www.shovels.ai/data/permits): Residential and commercial building permits, tagged by work type including roofing, windows, insulation, HVAC, solar, EV chargers and heat pumps.
- [Contractors](https://www.shovels.ai/data/contractors): Contractors with license status, permit history and measured job completion times.
- [Properties](https://www.shovels.ai/data/properties): Parcels and addresses with linked permit and ownership history.
- [Residents](https://www.shovels.ai/data/residents): Residents and homeowners linked to addresses.
- [Decisions](https://www.shovels.ai/data/decisions): Local government land use and zoning decisions, including multifamily and rezoning actions.

## Coverage, methodology and reference

Permit data is refreshed twice monthly, and new jurisdictions are added
monthly. Property coverage is broader than permit coverage, so a property can
be present in the dataset with no permit history behind it.

The coverage dashboard is the live source for per-state, per-county and
per-field coverage. Where it disagrees with the headline figures above, the
dashboard is current and this file is not.

- [Coverage dashboard](https://www.shovels.ai/coverage): Interactive breakdown of permit coverage by state and county.
- [Data dictionary](https://www.shovels.ai/data-dictionary): Every field in every table, with types and definitions.
- [Contractor directory](https://www.shovels.ai/contractor-directory): Public directory of building contractors.

## Comparisons

Honest comparisons against alternatives, including cases where another option
fits better.

- [Compare permit data providers](https://www.shovels.ai/compare): Index of every comparison, grouped by the job each alternative is built for.
- [Shovels vs. ATTOM](https://www.shovels.ai/compare/attom): Permit-first platform vs. broad property data catalog.
- [Shovels vs. Cotality](https://www.shovels.ai/compare/cotality)
- [Shovels vs. BuildFax](https://www.shovels.ai/compare/buildfax)
- [Shovels vs. BuildZoom](https://www.shovels.ai/compare/buildzoom)
- [Shovels vs. Construction Monitor](https://www.shovels.ai/compare/construction-monitor)
- [Shovels vs. Dodge and ConstructConnect](https://www.shovels.ai/compare/dodge-constructconnect): Permit data vs. project leads and bid networks.
- [Shovels vs. scraping it yourself](https://www.shovels.ai/compare/diy-scraping): What building an in-house municipal scraping pipeline actually costs.

## Customer case studies

- [Thumbtack](https://www.shovels.ai/blog/thumbtack-case-study/): Contractor license verification at marketplace scale.
- [Copper](https://www.shovels.ai/blog/case-study-copper/): Identified 4,036 electrification-ready households, 1.41% conversion rate.
- [61HAWK](https://www.shovels.ai/blog/case-study-61hawk/): Found hundreds of high-intent sales opportunities in 6 days using Charlie.
- [Boldr](https://www.shovels.ai/blog/case-study-boldr/): HVAC market intelligence and go-to-market targeting.
- [Beam](https://www.shovels.ai/blog/case-study-revolutionizing-lead-generation-for-beam/): Lead generation for a home services business.
- [Carbon Free Homes](https://www.shovels.ai/blog/case-study-empowering-carbon-free-homes/): Contractor matching for electrification installs.
- [BAIZEL](https://www.shovels.ai/blog/shovels-spotlight-how-baizel-uses-real-time-permit-intelligence-to-transform-cre-site-selection/): Commercial real estate site selection.
- [Inspectify](https://www.shovels.ai/blog/shovels-spotlight-deep-product-enrichment-with-inspectify/): Property condition enrichment.
- [Tactical Rebates](https://www.shovels.ai/blog/shovels-spotlight-how-tactical-rebates-taps-into-building-permits-to-power-smarter-solar-incentive-outreach/): Solar incentive outreach targeting.

## Industries

- [Energy and climate](https://www.shovels.ai/climate): Electrification, solar, heat pump and EV charger permit tracking by city.
- [Home services](https://www.shovels.ai/home-services): Contractor intelligence for marketplaces and platforms.
- [Real estate](https://www.shovels.ai/real-estate): Development and asset intelligence.
- [Construction technology](https://www.shovels.ai/software)
- [Building materials and equipment](https://www.shovels.ai/building-materials)
- [Insurance](https://www.shovels.ai/insurance): Property intelligence including roof age and permit history.
- [Telecommunications](https://www.shovels.ai/telecommunications)
- [Academic research](https://www.shovels.ai/research): Permit data for researchers, plus [research access requests](https://www.shovels.ai/contact/research).
- [Audience activation](https://www.shovels.ai/audiences)

## Company

- [Blog](https://www.shovels.ai/blog): Data reports, market analyses, product guides and permit data explainers.
- [About Shovels](https://www.shovels.ai/about)
- [Contact](https://www.shovels.ai/contact)
- [Brand guide](https://www.shovels.ai/brand)
- [Privacy center](https://www.shovels.ai/privacy-center)
- [Community Discord](https://discord.gg/Nypja3cKDx)

## Careers

- [Open roles](https://www.shovels.ai/careers): every current opening, with the full role description and how to apply.

_Last updated: 2026-10-21_