What this tool does that the city portal can't
- Full property history in one search. Enter any Orlando address and see every permit ever filed there — roofs, AC swaps, solar, pools, remodels — as a report card with totals and a timeline. Great for buyers doing due diligence and homeowners verifying their own records.
- Contractor report cards. Click any contractor to see their entire Orlando track record: permit count, trades, neighborhoods, and how long their permits typically take to issue. Vet before you sign.
- Live activity by trade and neighborhood. Filter to solar, roofing, HVAC or pools and watch which neighborhoods are hot.
- Real processing-time stats. Median days-to-issue by trade — how long permits are actually taking right now.
- Export and share everything. CSV export, printable property reports, shareable search links.
How to look up a building permit in Orlando
- Search by address in the header — the tool queries the city's entire dataset and returns every permit at that property as a report card.
- Click any permit for details: work type, review timeline, contractor contact, days-to-issuance.
- Click any contractor name for their report card and track record.
- Browse the live feed by trade or neighborhood, save searches, or export to CSV.
This tool vs. the City of Orlando's official portal
The City of Orlando's permitting services are where you apply for permits, schedule inspections, and obtain certified records — anything official happens there. This site is an independent, free search layer over the city's public Open Data, built for the other 95% of permit questions: "what's been done to this house?", "is this contractor active and legit?", "what's being built in my neighborhood?" — questions the official portal makes surprisingly hard to answer. For anything legally binding, always confirm with the City directly.
Frequently asked questions
How do I look up a building permit in Orlando?
Type the property address into the search box in the header. The tool searches the City of Orlando's entire permit dataset — over a million records — and returns every permit ever filed at that address, with status, contractor, cost, and a timeline.
Is this the official City of Orlando permit portal?
No — it's a free independent search tool built on the City of Orlando's public Open Data. For official records, certified copies, or to apply for a permit, use the City of Orlando's permitting services. This tool exists because the public data is far easier to search, filter, and export here.
Can I check a contractor's history before hiring them?
Yes — click any contractor name or search it in Contractor mode. Their report card shows total permits in Orlando, trades, neighborhoods, typical days-to-issuance, and recent activity.
How current is the data?
Straight from the City of Orlando Open Data API, updated by the city on an ongoing basis. The live feed refreshes each visit with a short cache; full-history searches query the city's data in real time.
Does this cover Orange County?
This covers permits issued by the City of Orlando. Unincorporated Orange County and neighboring cities (Winter Park, Apopka, etc.) run their own permitting systems.