# Shovels API — Jurisdiction Building Permit Search

> Shovels API — Jurisdiction 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 2026-09-14).

Search US building permits by jurisdiction, date range, location, and contractor via a pay-per-call API

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://stable-shovels.dev/api/jurisdictions/search
- Price: $0.5/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-14
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/shovels-api-jurisdiction-building-permit-search-31a29183
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_rmLMVWxz-7PmLQQ0X_ULr

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-jurisdiction-building-permit-search-31a29183 -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Search Shovels for all building permits filed in Austin, TX between January 1 2024 and June 30 2024 for roofing contractors — I want to see what permit activity looks like in that jurisdiction.

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need on-demand, no-subscription access to US building permit data searchable by jurisdiction, contractor, or date — especially useful for real estate research, contractor vetting, or construction market intelligence without committing to a recurring plan. Ideal for agents that make infrequent or exploratory permit queries and prefer pay-per-call USDC pricing via x402.

## Known failure modes

- Payment not received — x402 payment required before request is fulfilled
- Invalid jurisdiction identifier — returns error if jurisdiction is not recognized
- Date range too broad — may return paginated or truncated results
- No matching permits found — returns empty result set for valid but unmatched queries
- Malformed POST body — missing required search fields returns validation error

## 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 matching US building permit records filtered by the supplied jurisdiction, date range, location, and/or contractor criteria — each record likely includes permit ID, type, contractor, address, dates, and jurisdiction details.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "q": {
   "type": "string",
   "minLength": 1,
   "description": "The term to search for."
  },
  "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."
  }
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/shovels-api-jurisdiction-building-permit-search-31a29183/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)