Frequently asked questions

We aim to include a comprehensive record for every address. To keep each report trustworthy, we apply a strict address-matching process before we attach any record to a property — we would rather leave a record out than risk mapping it to the wrong address. Because of this, some records that appear on the municipality's website may not show up here, especially where the source data uses inconsistent or incomplete address formatting.

This matters most for records such as violations, orders, and other compliance items, where attaching a record to the wrong address could be misleading. For these in particular, always confirm against the official municipal records before relying on what you see — the municipality's website remains the authoritative source.

If you believe a record is missing or mismatched, let us know and we'll take a look.

Not every record can be tied to an individual unit, for a few reasons:

• Some records apply to the whole building. A permit or order may cover the structure as a whole or shared common areas rather than any single unit.
• Some records are missing unit detail at the source. The municipality recorded only the street address, with no suite or unit number for us to map against.

We do our best to place each record at the unit level wherever the source data supports it. When a record can't be reliably tied to a specific unit, we attach it to the building rather than guess — assigning it to the wrong unit would be misleading. If you know which unit a building-level record belongs to, tell us and we'll update it.

There are a few possibilities. The address may genuinely have no public records in the sources we cover — not every property has permits, orders, or licences on file. The address may not have matched our records, in which case the records exist but couldn't be tied to it reliably (see the question above on address matching). Or the property may be in an area we don't cover yet.

If you expected records and don't see them, check the municipality's website to confirm, and let us know.

We show only what the municipality published. When a field is blank, it's because the source record didn't include it — we leave it empty rather than fill it in or estimate. Municipalities also publish different fields from one another, so a detail that appears for one address may simply not exist for another.

We refresh from each municipality's published data on an ongoing basis, but how quickly new records appear depends on the municipality — some publish daily, others weekly or monthly. A report reflects what was available at the time you view it. For time-sensitive matters, confirm against the municipality's official records.

No. The report covers public activity records for an address — things like permits, inspections, licences, and orders. It does not include ownership or title information, and it does not include personal contact details for owners or residents.

No. CanPermits isn't affiliated with any municipality or government body, and a report isn't an official or certified record. We compile public records and present them in one place to make them easier to read — but the municipality remains the authoritative source. Rely on the official record for any legal, financial, or compliance decision.

We're starting with Toronto and adding more Canadian cities over time. If an address falls outside our current coverage, its report may be empty or unavailable even when records exist on the municipality's website.