# Chicago Business Licenses Scraper | Open Data Export (`parseforge/chicago-business-licenses-scraper`) Actor

Download Chicago business license records: company names, addresses, license types, expirations and statuses. Filter by status (Active, Revoked, Cancelled). Export to CSV, Excel, JSON or XML for lead generation, compliance research and local market analysis.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/chicago-business-licenses-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $19.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

![ParseForge Banner](https://github.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/blob/ad35ccc13ddd068b9d6cba33f323962e39aed5b2/banner.jpg?raw=true)

## 🏙️ Chicago Business Licenses Scraper

> 🚀 **Export active and historical Chicago business license records with license holder, address, ward, expiration, and license type in seconds.**

The Chicago Business Licenses Scraper extracts records from the City of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) public dataset. Every record includes the license holder name, DBA, address, ward, precinct, police district, license code/description, dates, and geo-coordinates - exported as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML.

The scraper supports filtering by license status (AAI active, AAC cancelled, REV revoked, INQ in-process and more) and paginates through millions of historical records.

| 🎯 Target Audience | 💡 Primary Use Cases |
|---|---|
| Compliance teams, lead-gen agencies, market researchers, real estate analysts, journalists, civic-tech | Lead generation, B2B prospecting, compliance audits, market analysis, real estate research |

### 📋 What the Chicago Business Licenses Scraper does

- Connects to the official City of Chicago Business Licenses dataset.
- Paginates through every record matching your filters.
- Normalises each record into a flat, analysis-ready row.
- Exports as CSV, Excel, JSON or XML - directly from your Apify dataset.
- Refreshes on demand or on schedule (hourly, daily, weekly).

> 💡 **Why it matters:** stop copy-pasting from a portal that paginates 100 records at a time. One click, full dataset, your format.

### 📊 Data fields

Each record includes: `account_number`, `address`, `application_created_date`, `application_requirements_complete`, `application_type`, `business_activity`, `business_activity_id`, `city`, `conditional_approval`, `date_issued`, `doing_business_as_name`, `expiration_date`, `id`, `imageUrl`, `latitude`, `legal_name`, `license_approved_for_issuance`, `license_code`, `license_description`, `license_id`, `license_number`, `license_start_date`, `license_status`, `license_status_change_date`, `longitude`, `payment_date`, `police_district`, `precinct`, `results`, `scrapedAt`, `site_number`, `sourceUrl`, `state`, `title`, `url`, `ward`, `ward_precinct`, `zip_code`. These field names come straight from the actor's dataset schema, so what you see here is what lands in your dataset.

### 🚀 How to use

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) - no credit card required.
2. Open the **Chicago Business Licenses Scraper** page in Apify Store and click **Try for free**.
3. Configure the input (see Input section above).
4. Click **Start** - the run will produce a downloadable dataset.
5. Export as CSV, Excel, JSON or XML, or stream to your destination via integrations.

### 🔗 Recommended Actors

| Actor | What it does |
|---|---|
| [OurAirports Global Airport Database Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/ourairports-scraper) | Worldwide airport reference dataset |
| [FINRA BrokerCheck Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/finra-brokercheck-scraper) | US broker & advisor licensing records |
| [FAA Aircraft Registry Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/faa-aircraft-registry-scraper) | US civil aircraft registration records |
| [SEC EDGAR Filings Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/sec-edgar-scraper) | Public company filings & financials |

> 💡 **Pro Tip:** browse the complete [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge) for 50+ data-export actors.

> **⚠️ Disclaimer:** This is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by City of Chicago Business Licenses. It only collects publicly available data published by the source. Always review the source's terms of use before commercial deployment.

### 🆘 Need Help?

If you hit a bug, have questions about setup, or need a scraper we haven't built yet, open our [contact form](https://tally.so/r/BzdKgA) or write to parseforge@protonmail.com. We also take on paid custom data projects.

For faster answers, join our [Discord](https://parseforge.co/discord). It's the best place to get support and suggest new actors.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of licenses to collect per run.

## `licenseStatus` (type: `string`):

Filter by license status code.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Scraped Chicago Business Licenses records

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/chicago-business-licenses-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/chicago-business-licenses-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/chicago-business-licenses-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/chicago-business-licenses-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/KhZi82MnuNoTPw10U/builds/dbFTIbphr3he36heE/openapi.json