Methodology

How this site gets its records, what it normalises, and what it deliberately leaves alone.

We store nothing

There is no database behind this site. Every licence, count and list is fetched from the issuing state’s open-data API when you request the page. When a state publishes a change, this site reflects it on the next load.

The source registry

Each state is one entry in a configuration file: host, dataset IDs, field mapping, licence-class dictionary and geometry column. Adding a state is an entry, not a code change. That is deliberate — the roadmap here is “add states”.

What we normalise

Exactly one thing: status. Each state uses its own vocabulary, so we map every value into six — Active, Pending, Expired, Surrendered, Suspended, Inactive — and the UI speaks only those. The state’s raw value is always shown on the licence page whenever it differs, so nothing is lost.

We also title-case names, because registers store them in shouting capitals, and we render every date twice: absolute and relative to today.

What we do not touch

• Licence class labels are the agency’s own. Texas codes use the official TABC names; New York and Connecticut publish descriptions directly.
• Enforcement records are reproduced verbatim, with no characterisation.
• We never merge records across states or assert that two similarly named businesses are the same operator.

Caching

Individual licence lookups and searches are effectively uncached. Aggregate counts behind the browse pages are cached at the edge for up to twelve hours, because recomputing them per request would pointlessly hammer state APIs. A count may be a few hours behind; a record is not. See How fresh is this data?

Removal requests

These are business licensing records and are public by law. But sole proprietors appear under personal names, sometimes at home addresses. If that is you and you want a page de-indexed, ask and we will do it — we cannot remove the record from the state register, only from this site. Search-result pages are already noindex, so no name ranks here through a query string.

Not legal advice

Licence classes, privileges and transfer rules are law, and law is local. Use this to find records and to orient. Before a transaction, verify with the issuing agency and take advice.