Shovels captures the first signal of construction—using AI to turn fragmented permit data into Shovel-ready intelligence. Access via API, web app, or direct data warehouse integration.
Because you want to get insights from building permits, not wrangle with raw data.
Our data is Shovel-ready
We make building permits easy to understand and use for market research, go-to-market, and sales. No data engineering required.
We offer three interfaces to interact with our building permit and building contractor data.
Purchase single or multiple seats to explore and download our building permit and contractor data.
Automate access and integrate with other applications like CRMs, custom web apps, and more.
Get parquet files or private table shares into Snowflake, Databricks, or Big Query.
We write about building permits, contractors, and the future of the built environment.
January 2026 Newsletter
Shovels kicks off 2026 with major moves: acquiring ReZone for government decisions data, launching Charlie (our AI research agent), and delivering critical Shovels Online improvements including contractor-merged exports, negative queries, and upcoming Addresses and Decisions tabs. Plus, a preview of entity extraction from permit descriptions.
CEO
Meet Charlie: Our AI Agent for Permit Intelligence
Introducing Charlie, our AI agent that searches millions of building permits and contractor records using natural language. Charlie is equipped with smart search capabilities, understanding context and filtering results to deliver exactly what you need—no SQL or complex syntax required.
Head of Marketing
Shovels Joins the Esri Living Atlas: Bringing Building Permit Intelligence to the World's Largest Spatial Data Library
Shovels' building permit data is now part of the Esri Living Atlas of the World, making our AI-powered construction intelligence instantly accessible to the global GIS community through ArcGIS.
Head of Marketing
