# Shovels API — Contractor Building Permit Search

> Shovels API — Contractor Building Permit Search is a paid API for AI agents from stable-shovels.dev, paid per call via x402, $0.5/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-15).

Search US building permits by date range, location, and contractor via a pay-per-call API with no subscription required

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://stable-shovels.dev/api/contractors/permits
- Price: $0.5/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-15
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/shovels-api-contractor-building-permit-search-115a51a5
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_o2zTRXRXZqANfOXWlioCd

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability shovels-api-contractor-building-permit-search-115a51a5 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Find me all building permits filed by ABC Roofing LLC in San Diego County, California between January 1 2024 and June 30 2024.

## When to prefer this

Use this endpoint when you need on-demand, pay-per-call access to US building permit records without committing to a subscription. Ideal for agents that need occasional contractor or permit lookups, due diligence on construction activity, or lead generation for the construction industry. The x402/MPP payment model makes it suitable for autonomous agents that can pay micropayments per query.

## Known failure modes

- Payment not received or insufficient USDC — returns 402 Payment Required
- Invalid or missing search parameters — returns 400 Bad Request
- No permits found matching criteria — returns empty result set
- Location not covered in dataset — no results returned
- Date range too broad — may return truncated or paginated results

## How this service works

Pay-per-call access to the Shovels building-permits search API over x402 and MPP. Search US building permits by date, location, and contractor — no accounts, no subscriptions, pay per request.

## Output

A list of US building permit records matching the search criteria, including permit details such as dates, locations, contractor information, and permit types.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "size": {
   "type": "integer",
   "maximum": 100,
   "minimum": 1,
   "description": "Records to return per page (1–100, default 50). Determines the price — each record returned costs one credit."
  },
  "cursor": {
   "type": "string",
   "description": "Pagination cursor — pass the `next_cursor` from a prior page."
  },
  "contractor_id": {
   "type": "string",
   "minLength": 1,
   "description": "The Shovels contractor id to list permits for."
  },
  "include_count": {
   "type": "boolean",
   "description": "Include a `total_count` of the contractor’s permits."
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/shovels-api-contractor-building-permit-search-115a51a5/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from stable-shovels.dev](https://www.zero.xyz/host/stable-shovels.dev/llms.txt)