# Find Chicago building permits with a unique scope Sometimes it's useful to see what is being built in Chicago, or who's involved in certain kinds of projects. For example, you may be looking for the owners of digital billboards or where cellular antennas are installed. Building Permits Browser makes it easy to keyword search hundreds of thousands of projects in Chicago going back to 2006. ## What is Building Permits Browser? [Building Permits Browser](https://www.chicagocityscape.com/permits.php) is a powerful map and spreadsheet to browser, search, filter, and sort over 600,000 building permits issued in Chicago since 2006. The database is updated every morning, Tuesday through Saturday, usually between 7 AM and 8 AM. The data comes from the Chicago Department of Buildings (DOB). By default, permits are sorted by "most recently issued" and "most expensive" when permits share the same issuance date. The building permit applicant provides the estimated cost value and it's not vetted by DOB. We use the estimated cost for sorting and for grouping permits into cost buckets. Building permits can be filtered by these characteristics: - Listed contractors, expeditors, owners, architects, and subcontractors - Issuance date - Zoning district - Permit type (i.e. new construction, demolition, sign, and renovation) - Estimated cost - Permit number (if you know it) - Transit proximity - Special "Quick Filters", including deconversions, teardowns, and ADUs - Tags and topics filters, including #UnusedZoningCapacity and adaptive reuse projects - Place Report (ward, community area, ZIP code, Personal Places, etc.) Additionally, building permits' work descriptions (project scope) can be searched with keywords (fewer words are better). Building permits cannot be filtered by the number of units. This is because the number of units is not provided in the dataset from DOB. The "units" count that you see in the Building Permits Browser is an automatically derived number based on a computer trying to read the work description. ## Search building permits by keyword It's quick and easy to search hundreds of thousands of Chicago building permits by entering a keyword in the search box below the map and clicking the "Search now" button. We recommend starting the search with one word because the work description may not be written or spelled how you would expect. (See screenshot 1.)  *Screenshot 1* ### Keyword examples #### "Antenna" By searching for the keyword "antenna" it's possible to find hundreds of buildings where cellular antennas have been installed. At the time of publication, there were over 9,800 building permits issued in Chicago that contain the word "antenna". (See screenshot 2.)  *Screenshot 2* At this point, it's possible to narrow the results by searching for a ZIP code (or other Place Report) by searching for it in the "Filter by Place" field. #### "Cannabis" Searching for the keyword "cannabis" will net dozens of building permits that represent the build out for dispensaries, craft growers, and cultivation centers. At the time of publication there were 35 building permits. *See also: [Find property that's potentially eligible for a cannabis business establishment](/guides/index.php?article=findcannabisproperty)* ## Filters This section describes some of the filters available in Building Permits Browser. ### Milestones Added in 2024, the Chicago Department of Buildings publishes "milestones", which indicate the status of a construction project. The milestones include a building permit being issued but the fee hasn't been paid, the project is undergoing inspections, and the project has received a certificate of occupancy. Sometimes, a permit may be cancelled although this is rare (less than times out of over 600,000 permits, as of December 3, 2024). See all of the milestone options in *screenshot 3*.  *Screenshot 3 showing the permit milestone options.* ### Quick Filters #### Deconversions The "Deconversions" Quick Filter searches for permits with descriptions that mention any of keywords that represent a "deconversion", which is a project to reduce the number of units in a building. The most common deconversion is turning a two-flat into a single-detached house (see *screenshot 3*). #### Residential The "Residential" Quick Filter searches for permits with descriptions that many any of these keywords: residential, multi, family, flat, or unit. #### Civic & public projects The incoming data to Building Permits Browser does not come with categorizing information. However, based on other clues within the permit information Chicago Cityscape has attempted to allow members to reasonably filter building permits that are for publicly-owned buildings. Specifically, Chicago Cityscape can identify the majority of building permits associated with the following departments and agencies: - Chicago Public Schools - Public Building Commission - Chicago Park District - Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) - Chicago Department of Assets & Information Services (AIS) - Metra - Chicago Fire Department Use: In the "Quick Filters" section select the checkbox next to "Civic & public projects" (see *screenshot 4*), then select the "Search & apply filters" button. The map and data table will refresh to show only the building permits associated with any of the above departments and agencies.  *Screenshot 4 showing Quick Filters and civic & public projects is selected* Note: Projects on State of Illinois properties, including University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), do not receive Chicago building permits. # Related articles - [[Analytics]] - [[Newsletters]]. There are several newsletters related to building permits, including Demolitions Tracker. - [[Finding contractors in Chicago]]