How We Research and Verify
Last updated
Permit rules affect real money and real businesses, so we hold every guide to the same process.
1. Official sources only
Every fact on a guide comes from an official source: a state statute or regulation, a state or county agency page or form, a city ordinance, or government open data. Blogs and vendor websites can help us find a source, but we never cite them as the source.
Every fact links to its source in the Sources list at the bottom of the page. Hover over a source number to see the exact words in the source that support the fact.
2. Drafted, then checked by a person
We use software to collect source pages and to draft a guide, with a quote from the source for every field. A draft is never published. A person then checks each fact, fee and link against the source itself and only then marks the guide as verified. The date at the top of every guide is the day that check was done.
3. Re-checked on a schedule
- Every week, a script re-reads every source we cite and flags any page whose text has changed. A person reviews each flag.
- Every guide is fully re-checked at least every six months. If a guide goes longer than that, it says so at the top.
- When a law changes, we update the guide and record the change, with its date, in the guide’s Recent changes section and on our law changes log.
4. Fees and money
Fees are copied exactly as the agency states them. Where a fee is set by each county or city, we say so rather than guess, and we leave it out of totals. Totals only add up fees that are fixed.
5. Open data
Where governments publish data, such as the number of food truck permits issued in a city, we download it from the official open-data portal, summarise it and show the source. We do not adjust the numbers.
6. Corrections
If you spot a mistake, report it. We aim to check every report within five working days and fix confirmed errors straight away. Significant corrections are noted in the guide’s Recent changes section.
What we are not
We are not lawyers and not a government agency, and our guides are not legal advice. Agencies can change fees and rules at any time. Always confirm with the agency before you apply. Read our disclaimer.