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Plumb Intelligence

Data Sourcing & Accuracy

Last updated: July 7, 2026

This page explains where PlumbIntel data comes from, how records are linked, how we label confidence and estimates, and how to correct or suppress a record. Honesty about the data is the product: we would rather show you a gap than a confident guess.

1. Where the data comes from

PlumbIntel compiles records that government agencies publish. We do not modify the underlying records; we aggregate, normalize, and link them. Our sources and refresh cadences:

  • Building permits — 11 Phoenix-metro city and county permit portals, refreshed daily.
  • Parcels, ownership, valuations, and recorded sales — Maricopa County Assessor and recorded sales data, refreshed weekly.
  • Contractor licenses — the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) statewide roster, plus the ROC disciplinary-action and unlicensed-violator lists, refreshed weekly.
  • Area demographics — U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) estimates, refreshed yearly as the Census publishes them.

2. "Ingested" vs. "source updated"

Every record carries its source and the time we pulled it. We distinguish ingested (when our pipeline retrieved the record) from source updated (the timestamp the government feed itself provides), because they are different promises: a record can be freshly ingested from a source that publishes on a lag. Where a jurisdiction publishes slowly, the data reflects that lag — we surface the timestamps rather than paper over them.

3. How records are linked — and how much links

Much of PlumbIntel's value comes from joining sources: a permit to a parcel, an owner, and a licensed contractor. Not every join is certain, and we publish coverage honestly:

  • Contractor linkage: about 42% of all permits carry a contractor link — 72% of permits that name a contractor. Many filings never name one (owner-builder work, jurisdictions that omit the field), so a permit without a link is often the record's gap, not ours. Every link shows its match confidence.
  • Owner join: roughly 89% of permits reach a parcel and owner.
  • Valuation: roughly 87% of permits carry a valuation — reported by the jurisdiction where available, otherwise a clearly labeled estimate.

4. Estimates are always labeled

Estimated values are marked with a ~ and an EST. tag, and fuzzy matches carry a confidence label rather than being presented as exact. We never present an estimate as a filed figure, and we never present an inferred link as a government-verified fact.

5. Corrections

Public records contain errors, and linking them can introduce more. If a record about you or your business is wrong or incomplete:

  • Use the suggest-an-edit flow on any contractor page to propose a correction with a reason, or
  • Email hello@plumbintel.com with the record and the issue.

We review each request against the originating government record. Verified corrections are applied at our linked layer with the change's lineage recorded and timestamped, so you can see what changed and why. Where the error originates upstream, the authoritative correction must come from the issuing agency — we will tell you which one, so you can pursue it there as well.

6. Suppression and removal requests

If you believe information about you should not be shown — for example, personal information that does not relate to a licensed business — email hello@plumbintel.com. We review suppression requests subject to verification, keeping in mind that the underlying records remain public at their government sources (see also our Privacy Policy, Section 5).

7. Limits of the data

Coverage varies by jurisdiction: some city feeds publish permits without naming a contractor, some publish on a delay, and historical depth differs by source. We show source, match state, and confidence on every record rather than smoothing over gaps. Do not treat the absence of a record as proof that no work occurred, and do not treat a confidence label as a legal certification.

8. Contact

Data questions, corrections, or suppression requests:
Plumb Intelligence LLC
Mailing address available on request — hello@plumbintel.com
hello@plumbintel.com


This page is provided for transparency and does not constitute legal advice. PlumbIntel data is derived from public records and is provided as-is (see our Terms of Service); always verify critical decisions against the authoritative government source.

Data Sourcing & Accuracy | Plumb Intelligence