How to read a Texas city pool permit
What a pool, roofing or solar permit record shows, how fast each city posts it, and what it can't tell you.
What the daily report shows
The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control posts new applications by day, with the license type and an action code. We read ORI (an original application) and PRM (a licensed business moving to a new address). We leave out PER, an ownership change at an existing place, which is most of the file.
What an application means
An application is an early signal. It can be protested or denied, and it can take months.
Los Angeles and San Francisco
These two cities publish business registrations with a location start date, for every trade. They're the only all-trades data here, and start dates can run ahead, so we drop anything more than 30 days out.
What isn't here
California's statewide seller's-permit file is a paid order and we haven't bought it. Until then, a salon in Fresno won't show up, for example.
Sources: building permit records published by the cities of Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Plano, Corpus Christi, Arlington, San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, Leander, Hutto and Lakeway, and Collin Central Appraisal District (Frisco). Written from the public records themselves; check with the agency for anything legal or binding.
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