Where Building Permits Miss Remodeling Jobs

A remodeling job shows up in a permit search when the scope requires a permit and the jurisdiction publishes the relevant record. A window swap, a residential reroof, or a cabinet installation can be visible in one market and absent in another. Check the specific work and local rules before using permit counts to judge the market.

Which remodeling jobs show up in a permit search?

Four jurisdictions give four different answers. Each row links to the agency page and shows the date we checked it. None of these pages shows its own last-updated date, so confirm the current rule before you quote.

Jurisdiction	Work scope	Local rule	What a search can miss	Source
Unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida	Replacement windows and doors	The county publishes checklists of required items and forms for windows and doors, and asks for product approval numbers.	Replacement jobs may be filed as window and door permits, separate from new-build records.	Miami-Dade window and door permit guidance, checked November 14, 2026
Portland, Oregon	Window and door openings	A permit is required to add a window, or to replace and widen one. A replacement with the same header size and location and no smaller clear opening does not need one. For doors, cutting a new opening or widening or reducing an existing one needs a permit. Replacing a door in the same opening does not.	Same-size replacements leave no permit record.	Portland window guidance · Portland residential permit guidance, checked November 14, 2026
Seattle, Washington	Reroofing	No permit at one- and two-family homes and townhouses when the work changes the building envelope only by adding or replacing insulation. Commercial and multifamily projects need a re-roofing permit.	Qualifying single-family and townhouse reroofs leave no permit record, so a roofing permit count understates that work.	Seattle re-roof permit guidance, checked November 14, 2026
New York City	New kitchen cabinets	The Department of Buildings lists installing new kitchen cabinets as work that does not require a permit.	A cabinet-only job leaves no record. A permit on a larger kitchen alteration may be your only signal, so ask whether cabinets are part of it.	NYC Department of Buildings permit guidance, checked November 14, 2026

Official guidance checked November 14, 2026.

Does replacing a window require a permit?

The opening decides it. In Portland, a same-size replacement can proceed without a permit, while a new or widened opening needs one. In unincorporated Miami-Dade County, replacement windows and doors have their own checklists and product approvals. Read the work description, and confirm the opening sizes and the applicable product approvals with the builder before quoting.

Do replacement doors need a permit?

Portland treats doors like windows: a new, widened, or reduced opening needs a permit, and a replacement in the same opening does not. If the permit feed shows only new openings, same-size door replacements are outside what you can see.

Does a reroof need a permit?

In Seattle, not for qualifying one- and two-family homes and townhouses. Screen the building type and scope before treating a roofing permit feed as a measure of local demand. Commercial and multifamily reroofing does need a permit there.

Does installing kitchen cabinets require a permit?

In New York City, installing new kitchen cabinets does not. A larger kitchen alteration may leave a permit record for the regulated work. That record may give you a reason to contact the contractor and ask whether cabinets are part of the job.

Build a lead list around what the source actually covers

Define the package. Separate a same-size replacement from a structural opening, a reroof from a new roof, and cabinet installation from a broader kitchen alteration.
Check the authority and dataset. Confirm the city or county that issues the permit and whether its public source includes the relevant building or trade record.
Match the channel to the job. Use permit records for visible work. For finish-only projects that can be exempt, build relationships with remodelers, installers, and designers who buy those packages.

What does Radar track?

Radar tracks eligible new-build permits in supported jurisdictions. The examples above explain why a broader public permit search might miss remodeling work. If you sell into new construction, use the permit lead walkthrough to qualify projects before calling.