Property intelligence for building permits and zoning
Know what you can build.
Know what to do next.
GovCodex connects your property, project, zoning rules, permits, spatial constraints and official government sources into one actionable plan.
Free to ask. Published coverage: Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota
- Resolving address
- Locating parcel
- Determining jurisdiction
- Loading zoning district
- Checking applicable overlays
- Resolving regulatory authority
Building permit and zoning compliance review required. Next action: submit a site plan showing setbacks.
Sample output for an example parcel, shown to illustrate the workflow. It is not a determination for a real property.
Product demo
Watch a permit check run start to finish.
Silent by design. This video has no audio track — it will never interrupt what you are listening to.
The problem
Property rules are fragmented. Your project shouldn't be.
One project can involve parcel records, zoning maps, municipal ordinances, county overlays, state building code, permit forms and several reviewing authorities. GovCodex resolves them around a single property and a single project.
One property. One project. Every applicable authority, rule, constraint and source resolved in one model.
- Parcel resolved
- Authority resolved
- Zoning and overlays applied
- Permit path sequenced
- Every finding cited
How GovCodex works
A compound model, not a lookup.
Each layer depends on the one before it. Property resolves the parcel, the parcel resolves the jurisdiction, the jurisdiction resolves the code, and the code meets the geometry of what you actually want to build.
Address matched to a parcel
The address is resolved against county parcel records, not a generic geocode.
Worked example
Pick a project. See what governs it.
Every panel below is sample output for one example parcel, shown to illustrate what a GovCodex answer contains. Run a check on your own address for findings tied to the current ordinance.
Can I build a 24 × 36 detached garage at 421 N 3rd Ave, Sturgeon Bay?
Yes, subject to placement. A detached garage of this size is allowed in the R-2 district as an accessory structure if it sits in the rear yard, holds the interior side setback and keeps total lot coverage under the district maximum.
Evidence
Every useful answer should show its work.
Findings carry the ordinance, the authority that enforces it and the date the record was last verified. Where a condition could change the answer, GovCodex says so instead of manufacturing certainty.
Read the methodology →Detached accessory structures must maintain a minimum 7 ft interior side setback in the R-2 district.
Sample finding. The figures and section reference above illustrate the shape of a GovCodex answer; run a check on your own address for findings tied to the current ordinance.
Other tools hold one layer. GovCodex joins them.
Understand how the rule affects this project on this property — with the parcel, the authority, the code and the permit path resolved together.
Built first for the people who break ground.
Contractors & Builders
Research requirements faster and start projects with fewer permitting surprises.
For builders →Coverage
We publish what we can verify.
Every jurisdiction exposes its ordinances, parcel data and permit information differently. Coverage is stated per state and per jurisdiction rather than implied to be uniform.
Free to explore. Pay when a project gets real.
Questions about GovCodex
Read the permit FAQ →GovCodex is a property intelligence platform that connects a proposed construction or renovation project with parcel data, zoning requirements, permitting authorities and official government sources.
GovCodex identifies the zoning district, dimensional standards, overlays and permit triggers that apply to a specific parcel, then relates them to the project you describe. Final determinations rest with the authority having jurisdiction.
From primary sources: municipal zoning ordinances, county GIS and parcel records, state building codes, department pages, official permit forms and published environmental datasets. Each finding links to the record behind it.
No. GovCodex organizes and cites the rules your building department enforces. Permits are still issued, reviewed and inspected by the local authority.
Start with the property. End with a plan.
Tell GovCodex what you want to build and see what applies before you spend time or money in the wrong direction.