Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions (these “Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and Permit Plotter (“Permit Plotter”, “we”, “us”, “our”). They govern your use of permitplotter.com and everything offered through it, including the map, lists, and tables of permits, search and filters, permit detail pages, CSV exports, saved email alerts, the API, and connections for AI assistants (together, the “Service”), and the permit records and related information presented through the Service (the “Data”).

By using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you use the Service on behalf of a company or firm, you agree on that organization’s behalf, you confirm you have the authority to do so, and “you” includes that organization. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

The Service is a map, list, and table of building permits for the East End of Long Island, New York: the Towns of Southampton, Southold, Shelter Island, and East Hampton, and villages including East Hampton Village and Quogue, with more added as their records arrive.

The Service is a research and prospecting tool intended for contractors, real estate professionals, and similar businesses, and the license in Section 7 covers that commercial use within your own organization. It is a starting point for research, not a substitute for the verification Section 5 requires.

Where sign-in is offered, using the Service without signing in shows only a limited free preview: approximate dots on the map, with precise locations, addresses, names, and dates withheld. Full access requires a credential we issue and, when we offer paid subscriptions, an active paid plan.

We compile the Data from public sources, including:

• Town and village websites and public records portals, which we crawl at a respectful, low rate.
• Responses to public records requests we file under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
• Monthly permit ledgers that town and village clerks email to us. Some arrive as scanned paper documents and are transcribed by hand.
• County records, which supply property owner names for some permits, not all.
• A third-party mapping service, which converts addresses into map locations (geocoding).

Each record identifies the town or village it comes from. Statuses and details in the Data can lag the issuing office’s own records, and towns and villages amend and correct their records over time.

The Service is not the official record of any permit. The official record is held by the issuing town or village. Permit Plotter is an independent business and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for any town, village, or county.

We tell you this plainly because most data products do not. We use artificial intelligence and other automated tools to help build and maintain the Data:

• Categorization. When the system encounters a permit type it does not recognize, AI suggests a category. Our standard practice is that a person confirms the suggestion before it is published, with narrow exceptions for close variants of decisions a person has already made.
• Double reading for some sources. For some sources, an AI reader must independently agree with a separate rules-based reading before a category is published. When the two disagree, the category is held for human review, and the permit appears without a category until a person decides.
• Readable descriptions. AI rewrites permit descriptions so they are easier to read, and the rewrite is what the Service displays. The clerk’s original text is preserved in our records, and a description we have not yet rewritten is shown blank rather than guessed at.
• Reading documents. AI reads scanned permit applications and incoming mail from records offices in narrow workflows that a person oversees, including, for one village, reading the contractor named on the application form.

Automated collection, transcription of scanned or handwritten documents, geocoding, and AI categorization can all make mistakes. A permit in the Data may be miscategorized, misdated, placed at the wrong location on the map, or missing entirely.

This section describes how we generally build and maintain the Data. It is not a promise about how any individual record was produced, and Section 5 applies to every record.

We work to keep the Data useful, but we do not guarantee it, and you must not treat it as authoritative.

THE SERVICE IS A RESEARCH TOOL ONLY. IT IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, NOT PERMITTING ADVICE, NOT A TITLE SEARCH, AND NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR CHECKING WITH THE ISSUING BUILDING DEPARTMENT. BEFORE YOU RELY ON ANY RECORD FOR ANY DECISION, INCLUDING ANY FINANCIAL, LEGAL, CONTRACTUAL, MARKETING, OR SAFETY DECISION, YOU MUST VERIFY IT WITH THE TOWN OR VILLAGE THAT ISSUED THE PERMIT.

If you believe a record is wrong, you can report it to us at legal@permitplotter.com. We may review the report against the issuing office’s records and may correct or annotate the record based on what we find. Reporting an error does not create any obligation owed to you or to anyone else, and we do not promise a response, a response time, or a particular outcome. You give us permission to use your report to correct and improve the Service. Section 13 covers reports from people who believe a record names them incorrectly.

For as long as you are authorized to use the Service and comply with these Terms, we grant you a limited license to access the Service and to use the Data for your internal business and research purposes, including commercial uses such as researching properties, finding prospects, and building your own call lists, within your own organization. This license is yours alone: it is non-exclusive, you cannot transfer it, and you cannot sublicense or pass any part of it to anyone else.

“Your organization” means the single legal entity, or the individual, that agreed to these Terms. It does not include affiliates, franchisees, clients, or customers unless we agree in writing.

Exports and downloads carry the same license: use them inside your own organization. Referencing a specific permit in your own work, such as a proposal or a call to a prospect, is internal business use. Supplying the Data itself to anyone outside your organization, whether in bulk or record by record, raw or repackaged, is not internal business use when the Data is the substance of what you deliver, and Section 8 prohibits it.

You may not, and you may not help or permit anyone else to:

1. scrape, crawl, or bulk-collect the Service or the Data by automated means (the API and the AI assistant connector under Section 11 are the supported ways to access the Data programmatically, for queries in the ordinary course of your own use, not for copying the dataset);
2. systematically harvest, replicate, or accumulate all or any substantial portion of the Data by any means, including through the API, exports, or an AI assistant connection (rate limits and export features are operational controls, not permission to assemble your own copy of the dataset);
3. resell, redistribute, republish, or sublicense the Data, including by newsletter, report, list, feed, or any product or service you provide to others, regardless of volume;
4. use the Data to build, or contribute the Data to, a competing database or data product;
5. use the Data to train, fine-tune, or improve an artificial intelligence or machine learning model, or to build embeddings, vector stores, or other derived datasets that persist beyond your AI assistant’s transient use in serving you, without our prior written permission. Letting your assistant read and analyze the Data through our connector for your own use is permitted, and incidental processing by your assistant’s provider is not a breach so long as you do not direct or configure the assistant or its provider to train on the Data;
6. share an individual login with anyone (each login is personal under Section 9), or share API keys or tokens with anyone outside your organization;
7. use the Data in violation of applicable law, including telemarketing, do-not-call, text-messaging, and anti-spam laws, when contacting any person named in the records;
8. circumvent or attempt to circumvent access controls, rate limits, or the free preview’s location blurring; or
9. probe, disrupt, or interfere with the Service or anyone else’s use of it.

A violation of this section may cause Permit Plotter harm that money cannot adequately remedy, and you agree that Permit Plotter may seek injunctive relief (a court order stopping the violation) in addition to its other remedies.

When accounts are offered, each login is issued to one named person and may not be shared. You are responsible for all activity under your credentials, and you must keep them secure and confidential. If you believe a credential has been compromised, tell us promptly at legal@permitplotter.com.

This section applies if and when we offer paid subscriptions.

1. Plans. Our current plans, prices, and included login counts are presented when you subscribe. Logins are per person and may not be shared, inside or outside your organization.
2. Billing. Plans are billed monthly or annually through a third-party payment processor.
3. Automatic renewal. Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period until cancelled.
4. Cancellation. You may cancel at any time. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period, and you keep access until then.
5. Refunds. Fees are non-refundable except where required by law or where we expressly state otherwise.
6. Price changes. We may change prices with advance notice to you. A price change takes effect at your next renewal, so you can cancel first if you do not accept it.
7. Trials. If we offer trial access, it may exclude some features, including downloads and exports.

Access keys and tokens are issued per customer, can expire, and can be revoked at any time, at your request or by us, including for violations of these Terms. Links to exported files are time-limited and expire. We may set, and change, rate limits to keep the Service healthy for everyone. We also set limits on how many downloads you may take and how many rows they may hold. Current limits are shown in the app, and we may change them.

The Service includes a connector that lets your AI assistant (such as Claude, ChatGPT, or a similar tool) read the Data on your behalf. Your AI assistant means a tool used by and for your own organization; you may not connect an assistant, agent, or application that retrieves Data for, or serves outputs to, anyone outside your organization. Connecting an assistant extends your own access: everything the assistant retrieves, and the outputs it produces from the Data, are subject to the same license and restrictions that apply to you, and you are responsible for the assistant’s use of your access. Revoking a key ends the connected assistant’s access along with it.

When you save an email alert, you are asking us to email you, and you consent to receive the emails you sign up for. Every alert email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can stop alerts at any time.

Owner and contractor names in the Data come from government public records. Some appear on the permit itself; others are property owner names we match to the permit’s property using county records. That matching is automated and can be wrong or out of date, for example after a property has recently been sold. We do not sell lists of personal information; names appear only as part of the permit records, and the free public preview withholds names entirely.

If a record names you incorrectly, or you have any concern about personal information in the records, contact legal@permitplotter.com. We will check the record against official sources and correct any misattribution we can verify.

Permit Plotter is not a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Data is not a consumer report. You may not use the Data to determine any person’s eligibility for credit, insurance, employment, housing, or any other purpose regulated by the FCRA.

The Service, its design, and the selection, arrangement, and enhancement of the Data as a compilation belong to Permit Plotter. The underlying government permit records are public information, and we claim no ownership of the public facts in them. What we protect is the work of collecting, organizing, checking, and presenting them. Apart from the license in Section 7, these Terms give you no rights in the Service.

The map is rendered by a third-party mapping provider, and payments are processed by a third-party payment processor. Each of those providers has its own terms and privacy practices, which apply to your use of those parts of the Service, and we are not responsible for their services. We also use third-party analytics and error-tracking services to understand how the Service is used and to find problems; they receive technical usage data from your browser, including recordings of how pages are used (session replay, with anything typed into an input masked). Our Privacy Policy, posted at permitplotter.com/privacy, describes what we collect from visitors and account holders and who handles it.

The Service will change over time. We may add, modify, or retire features, and we may modify or discontinue the Service in whole or in part.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service if you violate these Terms. We may also suspend or terminate your access to address a security incident or legal risk, for non-payment, or for any reason on thirty days’ notice; if we end a paid plan that way without cause, we will refund the prorated fees for the unused part of your billing period. You may stop using the Service at any time, and Section 10 governs cancellation of a paid plan.

When your access ends, your license under Section 7 ends with it. Data you exported in the ordinary course of using the Service may continue to be used inside your own organization, and every restriction in Section 8 continues to apply to it. If we terminate your access for a violation of these Terms, that continued-use right does not apply: you must delete all exported Data and, on request, confirm in writing that you have. Sections 5, 8, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 24 survive, along with this section and anything else that by its nature should survive.

THE SERVICE AND THE DATA ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE”. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PERMIT PLOTTER DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT ANY RECORD REFLECTS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE ISSUING OFFICE’S RECORDS. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, SO PARTS OF THIS SECTION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: (A) PERMIT PLOTTER’S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE, THE DATA, OR THESE TERMS IS CAPPED AT THE GREATER OF (1) THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU PAID PERMIT PLOTTER IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (2) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100); AND (B) PERMIT PLOTTER WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, OR LOST DATA, EVEN IF WE WERE ADVISED SUCH DAMAGES WERE POSSIBLE. EXCEPT AS STATED BELOW, THESE LIMITS APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY.

This section limits direct damages; it does not exclude them. These limits reflect the bargain between you and Permit Plotter: a low-cost research tool that compiles public records could not be offered at this price without these limits. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for our gross negligence, willful misconduct, or fraud, for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for any other liability that applicable law does not allow to be limited or excluded. Where a law does not permit a particular limitation to apply to you, that limitation applies only to the extent permitted, and the rest of this section stays in force.

If a third party brings a claim against Permit Plotter arising out of your violation of these Terms, your misuse of the Service or the Data, or the actions of an AI assistant or other tool you connected to your access, you will indemnify Permit Plotter: you will cover the damages, costs, and reasonable attorneys’ fees Permit Plotter incurs from that claim. We will notify you promptly of any such claim, and our failure to do so does not relieve you of your obligations under this section except to the extent the delay materially prejudices your defense. Permit Plotter may control its own defense, you may participate at your own expense, and we will not settle a claim at your expense without your consent, which you will not unreasonably withhold.

Any claim you bring against Permit Plotter arising out of or relating to the Service, the Data, or these Terms must be brought within one year after the claim accrues (that is, after the events giving rise to it happen) or, if applicable law requires, within one year after you knew or reasonably should have known of the facts giving rise to it, whichever is later. A claim not brought within that period is permanently barred, unless the law forbids that time limit for your claim.

These Terms, and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Service, are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. The state and federal courts located in Suffolk County, New York have exclusive jurisdiction over any such dispute, and you and we each consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts and waive any objection to venue there.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND PERMIT PLOTTER EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY DISPUTE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS, THE SERVICE, OR THE DATA.

We may update these Terms. The current version is always posted at permitplotter.com with its effective date, and we will give account holders reasonable advance notice of material changes, such as by email or a notice in the Service. Continued use of the Service after the effective date is acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not accept a change, stop using the Service and, if you subscribe, cancel before your next renewal.

1. Entire agreement. These Terms, together with any plan or pricing terms presented to you when you subscribe, are the entire agreement between you and Permit Plotter about the Service, and they replace all earlier versions and understandings, including the Terms dated August 14, 2026. In using the Service you rely only on these Terms and on your own verification under Section 5, and not on any other statement or description of the Service or the Data.
2. Severability. If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, that part will be limited or removed to the minimum extent necessary, and the rest stays in full force.
3. No waiver. If we do not enforce a provision, that is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later. A waiver is effective only in writing.
4. Assignment. We may assign these Terms, including in connection with a sale or reorganization of the business. You may not assign them without our written consent, and any attempted assignment without consent is void.
5. Notices. Legal notices to Permit Plotter must be sent to legal@permitplotter.com. We may give you notices at the email address on your account or through the Service.

Questions about these Terms, error reports, and requests concerning personal information in the records: legal@permitplotter.com.