How to read a building permit

A building permit is a business telling the government, in writing, that it's spending real money to open or expand. Learn to read a few fields and a permit stops being paperwork and becomes a qualified, dated, public lead. Here's what to look at.

The fields that actually matter

Permit type. Building means structural work. Trade permits — electrical, mechanical, plumbing, hood — mean active buildout. A hood permit signals a commercial kitchen.
Description / scope. Plain-language clues: "tenant improvement," "new restaurant," "kitchen hood," "build-out of suite 200."
Estimated project cost. A size and seriousness signal. A $30k permit and a $700k permit are different prospects entirely.
Contractor name. Who's doing the work — a potential referral partner, and proof the project is funded.
Status and issue date. Issued means it's real and moving. Application-only means the date can still slip.
Address. Your match key — the way you connect this permit to a liquor application or a new license at the same location.

Issued versus applied: the difference that saves you time

An application is intent; an issued permit is a commitment with a clock running. Application dates slip by months — financing falls through, plans change. Prioritize issued trade permits, which mean construction is actually happening and an open date is forming.

Turning one permit into a real lead

A single permit is a clue, not a conclusion. Confirm it against a second record at the same address — a business license, a liquor application, a new formation. When two independent signals agree, you've got a genuine opening worth a call, not a maybe.

Reading permits one at a time is slow, and the highest-value ones are scattered across separate city portals. The skill is cheap; the hours are not.

Common questions

What does a trade permit mean for a new business? Trade permits — electrical, mechanical, plumbing, or hood — mean the buildout is actively underway, which is a stronger "opening soon" signal than a building-permit application alone.

What is a hood permit? A permit for a commercial kitchen exhaust hood. It's a reliable sign that the business is a restaurant or food operation doing a real kitchen buildout.

How do I know if a permit is current? Check the status and issue date. An issued permit with a recent date means active work; an application without an issue date may still stall.

The takeaway

Six fields turn a permit from paperwork into a prospect: type, scope, cost, contractor, status, and address. Read those, prioritize issued trade permits, and confirm against a second record at the same address — and you're calling real openings while they're still under construction.