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, contractor, and government decision data.
Purchase single or multiple seats to explore and download our building permit, contractor, and local government decision 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, government decisions, and the future of the built environment.
Shovels Newsletter - May 2026
CEO Ryan Buckley shares Shovels' evolution, featuring new expert voices, expanded permit data coverage with 223 new jurisdictions, and the company's transition to a proprietary data pipeline.
VP of Marketing
Monthly Memo - May 2026
April was a record month, and May is a reminder of business ebb and flow—but the work continues. Updates include expanding "Decisions" coverage, an exploration of nationwide property/tax assessor data, the shift to a property-based architecture and breaking V3 API, plus a near-ready overhaul of Shovels Online with a new frontend/backend, Charlie integration, and an improved map.
CEO
What Is a Parcel in Real Estate? A Basic Guide
Learn what a parcel is in real estate, how APNs and parcel maps work, and how parcel data connects to building permits, ownership records, and property due diligence.
Senior Marketing Manager
