# How to look up building permits for an address

> Find the permit history of a house: which office issues permits for the address, how to search the online permit portal, what to do when records are not online, and how to search permits across many properties.

Source: https://www.parceled.ai/guides/how-to-look-up-building-permits-by-address  
Publisher: Parceled (https://www.parceled.ai)  
Updated: 2026-10-06

To look up building permits for an address, find out who issues permits there (the city building department inside city limits, the county outside them), then search that department's online permit portal by address or parcel number. If the portal does not go back far enough, file a public records request. To search permits across many properties, use a permit data API such as Parceled, which links permits to parcels.

## Step by step

1. **Find the jurisdiction.** Inside an incorporated city, the city issues building permits; in unincorporated areas, the county does. Some small towns contract with the county or a third party.
2. **Open the permit portal.** Search "[city] building permit search". Common platforms include Accela Citizen Access, Tyler EnerGov, eTRAKiT, CityView, iWorQ, OpenGov and Cityworks.
3. **Search by address or parcel number.** Parcel number searches avoid address-format mismatches.
4. **Read the record.** Note the permit type, issue date, status (issued, finaled, expired) and contractor.
5. **Request older records.** Paper-era permits usually require a public records request to the building department.

## What do permit statuses mean?

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Applied / in review | Submitted, not yet approved |
| Issued | Approved; work may start |
| Finaled / closed | Passed final inspection; work complete |
| Expired | Work never passed final inspection before the permit lapsed |

## How do I search permits across many properties?

Parceled collects permits from city and county portals, links them to parcels and normalizes the permit type. You can list permits for one property (`roofPermits` or all-type `permits`) or search a county for properties with, or without, a permit since a date. See [building permit data API](https://www.parceled.ai/data/building-permits).

## Frequently asked questions

### Are building permits public record?

Yes, in every state, although the format and how far back online records go vary by department.

### How can I tell when a roof was replaced?

Look for a re-roof or roofing permit in the permit history. Roofers use this at scale; see Hail Pro's guide to [checking roof permit history](https://www.hailpro.dev/guides/how-to-find-out-how-old-a-roof-is).