# PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence (remote · permitreporter.com)

Source-linked building-permit search across 34 US states and DC, with county-level coverage.

- Trust score: 28/100 (low)
- Change this week: 0
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-11-05

## Components

- remote · `permitreporter.com`: 28/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-permitreporter-us-building-permits/permitreporter.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-permitreporter-us-building-permits/permitreporter)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://permitreporter.com/mcp`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `required (not validated)`
- Version: `1.1.0`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-11-05.

- **Endpoint Security**: 71/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - The endpoint enforces authorisation, but returns a challenge with no valid RFC 9728 metadata, so a client cannot discover where to get a token.
  - HTTPS enforcement could not be verified: the plaintext port answered with HTTP 403, which proves neither a plaintext path nor enforcement.
  - HSTS check failed: the Strict-Transport-Security header is absent.
  - DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 0/100
  - Transport blocked by authentication: the endpoint requires auth we don't have to verify streamable-http.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 0/100
  - Schema not yet verified: we couldn't read the endpoint's schema, or could read only part of its tool list.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 0/100
  - Stability not yet verified: not enough scan history yet (needs a 30-day window).
- **Tool Coverage**: 0/100
  - Tool coverage not yet verified: we couldn't read the endpoint's tools, or could read only part of the list.
- **Tool Safety**: 0/100
  - Tool safety not yet verified: we couldn't read the endpoint's tools, or could read only part of the list.
- **Capabilities**: 0/100
  - Capabilities not yet verified: we couldn't read the endpoint's capabilities.

**Unverified: 6 categories.** Categories scored 0 because we could not verify them: authentication we do not have, an unreachable endpoint, or not enough scan history. We only credit what we can confirm.

## Install

### How do I install the PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence MCP server?

PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence is a hosted endpoint at https://permitreporter.com/mcp, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http com-permitreporter-us-building-permits 'https://permitreporter.com/mcp'
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "com-permitreporter-us-building-permits": {
      "url": "https://permitreporter.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "com-permitreporter-us-building-permits": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://permitreporter.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.com-permitreporter-us-building-permits]
url = "https://permitreporter.com/mcp"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "com-permitreporter-us-building-permits": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://permitreporter.com/mcp",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add com-permitreporter-us-building-permits --url 'https://permitreporter.com/mcp' --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  com-permitreporter-us-building-permits:
    url: "https://permitreporter.com/mcp"
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "com-permitreporter-us-building-permits": {
      "Transport": "http",
      "Url": "https://permitreporter.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add com-permitreporter-us-building-permits -t streamable-http -u 'https://permitreporter.com/mcp'
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "com-permitreporter-us-building-permits": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://permitreporter.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-09-28 (score 0)

- [functional] We updated how we score, so this day's move reflects our rubric, not a change to the server

### 2026-09-25 (score 0)

- [functional] We updated how we score, so this day's move reflects our rubric, not a change to the server

### 2026-09-16 (score 0)

- [security regression] Endpoint reachability: reachable → not serving MCP
- [security regression] Stability: 0.53 → unverified
- [security regression] Tool safety: pass → unverified
- [security regression] Transport: pass → unverified
- [security regression] Authorization: partial → fail
- [functional regression] Schema quality: 100 → unverified
- [functional regression] Capabilities: pass → unverified
- [functional regression] Tool coverage: 100 → unverified

### 2026-09-05 (score 0)

- [security] The server rewrote its instructions, which are the text every model session reads
- [security] Tool “fetch” rewrote its description, which is the text the model reads
- [security] Tool “get_contractor_leads” rewrote its description, which is the text the model reads
- [security] Tool “get_permit_record” rewrote its description, which is the text the model reads
- [security] Tool “search” rewrote its description, which is the text the model reads
- [security] Tool “search_permits” rewrote its description, which is the text the model reads
- [functional regression] Schema quality: 71 → 82
- [functional improvement] Tool coverage: 41% → 46%
- [functional] Server version: 1.0.0 → 2.0.0
- [cosmetic] “search_permits” added an optional parameter “q”
- [cosmetic] “search_permits” added an optional parameter “state”
- [cosmetic] “fetch” reworded the description of “id”

### 2026-08-31 (score 0)

- [functional improvement] Stability: unverified → 0.03

### 2026-08-30 (score 0)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (8)

### `search` (~54 tokens)

Search US permit sources

Search free PermitReporter reviewed guides and coverage guidance. Returns guide IDs and canonical URLs. Use the paid search_permits tool for collected permit records.

Input parameters:

- `query` (string, required): A natural-language question about US building permits or PermitReporter.

Output parameters:

- `results` (array)

### `fetch` (~75 tokens)

Fetch a US permit source

Fetch a guide:ID for free, or a permit:ID for 0.005 USDC via x402. Permit records retain source, record date, collection timestamp and coverage limits.

Input parameters:

- `id` (string, required): A free guide:ID from search, or a paid permit:ID using a numeric record_id from search_permits.

### `search_permits` (~188 tokens)

Search collected US building permits

Costs 0.005 USDC via x402; empty results are unbilled. Search privacy-minimized collected building-permit records by public text, US county, city, PermitReporter trade classification or record-date range. Coverage spans 34 states and the District of Columbia; name a county bare for Georgia ('Cobb') or state-qualified elsewhere ('Los Angeles, CA'). Returns no raw payloads or party arrays. An empty result means no matching record was collected, not that no permit exists.

Input parameters:

- `city` (string)
- `county` (string)
- `date_from` (string)
- `date_to` (string)
- `limit` (integer)
- `q` (string): Alias for query; supply only one.
- `query` (string)
- `state` (string): Tracked US state or district.
- `trade` (string)

### `get_permit_record` (~65 tokens)

Get a source-linked US permit record

Retrieve one privacy-minimized collected building-permit record by PermitReporter record ID, including its canonical citation, official source link and collection timestamp. Costs 0.005 USDC via x402; a missing record is unbilled.

Input parameters:

- `record_id` (integer, required)

### `get_county_coverage` (~56 tokens)

Check US county permit coverage

Return the current source route, issuer, cadence, lag, through-date, collected record count, sources and statistical floor for one covered US county. Call this before interpreting a missing county result.

Input parameters:

- `county` (string, required)

### `get_contractor_leads` (~97 tokens)

Find US contractor opportunity signals

Return recent, source-linked collected permits classified by trade and project scope for contractor research within the last days ending today (default 30). Costs 0.01 USDC via x402; empty results are unbilled. Classifications are editorial signals, not official fields or guaranteed work.

Input parameters:

- `county` (string)
- `days` (integer)
- `limit` (integer)
- `trade` (string)

### `get_statewide_snapshot` (~93 tokens)

Get the current US permit-data snapshot

Return current PermitReporter counts, route-status boundaries, record-date range and latest collection timestamp without returning personal data. Pass `state` with a two-letter code to get that one jurisdiction's collected coverage, including an explicit answer for states where nothing has been collected yet.

Input parameters:

- `state` (string): Two-letter US state or district code, for example 'OH' or 'DC'. Omit for the national snapshot.

### `create_permit_watch` (~261 tokens)

Create an authorized PermitReporter email watch

Create a pending email watch only after the user reviews the exact email, search query and optional county, explicitly authorizes this request and confirmation email, and accepts https://permitreporter.com/terms and https://permitreporter.com/privacy. This additive action stores the email and search for alerts; it does not file a permit or prove coverage. The address must confirm before alerts begin. Reuse submission_id for safe retries.

Input parameters:

- `county` (string): Optional county restriction. Bare for Georgia ('Cobb'), state-qualified elsewhere ('Los Angeles, CA').
- `email` (string, required): The user's reviewed email address. It is stored for confirmation and alerts, never returned.
- `query` (string, required): The exact address, project, subdivision, business term or county-wide phrase the user approved.
- `submission_id` (string, required): Generate once for this watch; reuse it when retrying the same exact request.
- `terms_and_privacy_accepted` (boolean, required): True only after the user accepts https://permitreporter.com/terms and https://permitreporter.com/privacy.
- `user_authorized` (boolean, required): True only after the user reviews the exact email, query and county and explicitly asks PermitReporter to create this watch and send its confirmation email.

Output parameters:

- `next_step` (string)
- `ok` (boolean)
- `reference` (string)
- `replayed` (boolean)
- `status` (string)
- `submission_meaning` (string)
- `watch` (object)

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-permitreporter-us-building-permits/permitreporter#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-11-05: 28
- 2026-11-04: 28
- 2026-11-03: 28
- 2026-11-02: 28
- 2026-11-01: 28
- 2026-10-31: 28
- 2026-10-30: 28
- 2026-10-29: 28
- 2026-10-28: 28
- 2026-10-27: 28
- 2026-10-26: 28
- 2026-10-25: 28
- 2026-10-24: 28
- 2026-10-23: 28
- 2026-10-22: 28
- 2026-10-21: 28
- 2026-10-20: 28
- 2026-10-19: 28
- 2026-10-18: 28
- 2026-10-17: 28
- 2026-10-16: 28
- 2026-10-15: 28
- 2026-10-14: 28
- 2026-10-13: 28
- 2026-10-12: 28
- 2026-10-10: 28
- 2026-10-09: 28
- 2026-10-04: 28
- 2026-10-03: 28
- 2026-10-02: 28

## Common questions

### What is the PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence MCP server?

PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as com.permitreporter/us-building-permits. Source-linked building-permit search across 34 US states and DC, with county-level coverage. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://permitreporter.com/mcp).

### Is the PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence MCP server safe to use?

PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence scores 28 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence MCP server expose?

PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence exposes 8 tools: search, fetch, search_permits, get_permit_record, get_county_coverage, and 3 more. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 889 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Does the PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence MCP server require authentication?

Yes. PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence asked us for credentials when we connected, so you will need to authorise it in your MCP client before it can do anything.

### Is the PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence MCP server still maintained?

PermitReporter — US Building Permit Intelligence is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 5 November 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://permitreporter.com/mcp
- Website: https://permitreporter.com/ai-permit-search
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-permitreporter-us-building-permits/permitreporter.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-permitreporter-us-building-permits/permitreporter.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/com-permitreporter-us-building-permits/permitreporter