Data Sources for Contractor Vetting
SiteVetter aggregates contractor compliance data from six sources — five federal and state databases plus building permit records from major California cities. These same searches would take 45+ minutes to run manually across separate government websites. Below is a detailed breakdown of each data source, what information we extract, and how often the data is updated.
Update Frequency Summary
| Source | Update Frequency | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| CSLB | Weekly | 290,000 CA contractors |
| SAM.gov | Within 3 business days | Federal exclusions (nationwide) |
| OSHA | Weekly | 34,625 inspections (FY 2024) |
| DOL WHD | Monthly | Compliance actions since FY 2005 |
| EPA ECHO | Weekly | 800,000 facilities (nationwide) |
| Building Permits | Weekly | 5 major CA cities |
CSLB (Contractors State License Board)
CSLB is the California state agency that licenses and regulates the construction industry. Established in 1929, CSLB licenses approximately 290,000 contractors across 44 classification types.
What SiteVetter Checks
- License status (Active, Suspended, Revoked, Expired)
- License classification codes (e.g., B - General Building, C-10 Electrical)
- Workers' compensation insurance status or exemption filing
- Contractor bond information ($25,000 license bond requirement)
- Business entity type and personnel (RMO, RME, officers)
- Disciplinary actions and license history
Update Frequency
CSLB updates their public data portal weekly. SiteVetter syncs California contractor records on a weekly schedule to maintain current license status information.
Coverage
All licensed contractors in California. Any contractor working on projects valued at $500 or more must hold a valid CSLB license under California Business & Professions Code Section 7028.
SAM.gov (System for Award Management)
SAM.gov is the official U.S. government system for managing federal awards and exclusions. The exclusions database identifies parties debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from receiving federal contracts and certain subcontracts.
What SiteVetter Checks
- Active exclusion status (debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment)
- Excluding agency name
- Exclusion type and cause
- Termination date of exclusion
- Cross-references to principals and affiliated entities
Update Frequency
Federal agencies must enter exclusion records into SAM.gov within three business days of taking action. Modifications or rescissions must be updated within five working days. SiteVetter checks SAM.gov in real-time for each report.
Coverage
Nationwide federal exclusion records. Under FAR 9.405, contractors with active exclusions cannot receive federal contracts or subcontracts exceeding the micro-purchase threshold. GCs on federal projects must verify subcontractor eligibility before award.
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
OSHA is the federal agency responsible for ensuring safe and healthy working conditions. OSHA conducts workplace inspections and issues citations for safety and health violations.
What SiteVetter Checks
- Inspection history and dates
- Violation types (Serious, Willful, Repeat, Other-than-Serious)
- Penalty amounts assessed
- Fatality and severe injury investigations
- Establishment information and industry classification
Update Frequency
OSHA inspection and violation data is updated weekly on the DOL Enforcement Database. Fatality inspection data is updated daily with a six-month lag from the opening conference date.
Coverage
Nationwide workplace inspections. In FY 2024, OSHA conducted 34,625 inspections across programmed (emphasis programs) and unprogrammed (complaints, injuries, referrals) categories. As of January 2025, maximum penalties are $16,550 per serious violation and up to $165,514 per willful violation.
DOL WHD (Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division)
The Wage and Hour Division enforces federal labor laws including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Davis-Bacon Act, and child labor laws. WHD investigates complaints and conducts compliance audits.
What SiteVetter Checks
- Compliance action conclusions and findings
- Back wages owed and number of employees affected
- Civil money penalties assessed
- Violation types (minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping)
- Industry and establishment details
Update Frequency
WHD compliance action data is updated monthly on the DOL Enforcement Database. The public dataset contains all concluded WHD compliance actions since FY 2005.
Coverage
Nationwide wage and hour investigations. WHD enforces labor laws covering minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor provisions. The data includes whether violations were found and the total back wage amounts recovered.
EPA ECHO (Enforcement and Compliance History Online)
EPA ECHO provides integrated compliance and enforcement information for facilities regulated under federal environmental laws. The system tracks permits, inspections, violations, and enforcement actions.
What SiteVetter Checks
- Clean Air Act (CAA) compliance status
- Clean Water Act (CWA) permit violations
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste handling
- Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) compliance
- Inspection dates and findings
- Enforcement actions and penalties
Update Frequency
EPA ECHO data is refreshed weekly from EPA source databases. The system provides 5 years of inspection and enforcement data in facility searches, and 10 years of compliance data in detailed reports.
Coverage
ECHO covers approximately 800,000 regulated facilities nationwide. Data includes EPA, state, local, and tribal environmental agency compliance records across air emissions, surface water discharges, hazardous waste handling, and drinking water systems.
Building Permits (Major CA Cities)
Building permit data is sourced from municipal open data portals via Socrata APIs. SiteVetter currently covers five major California cities: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento. Permits are matched to contractors by license number (exact match) or business name (fuzzy match with high-confidence threshold).
What SiteVetter Checks
- Permit numbers, issue dates, and current status
- Project types and descriptions
- Estimated project valuations
- Permit activity trends over time (permits per year)
- Geographic distribution of work across covered cities
- License alignment — whether permit work matches contractor classifications
Update Frequency
Permit data is refreshed weekly during the data sync cycle. San Francisco and Sacramento provide near-real-time data; San Jose updates daily. Los Angeles data currently ends May 2023; San Diego data ends December 2023.
Coverage
Building permits from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, and Sacramento. Permits are matched to contractors using license number (verified match) or fuzzy business name matching (confidence threshold of 0.9+). Contractors outside these five cities will show limited permit coverage.
Data Accuracy and Limitations
SiteVetter presents data exactly as reported by government sources. We do not modify, interpret, or editorialize the underlying records. Data accuracy depends on the reporting agency's data entry and update practices.
OSHA and DOL data require name-based matching since these agencies do not use license numbers as identifiers. This means records are matched using business name and address, which may result in occasional false positives or missed matches for businesses with common names or multiple locations. Building permits use license number matching where available (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego) and high-confidence fuzzy name matching for San Jose and Sacramento.
Get All Six Checks in One Report
SiteVetter aggregates CSLB, SAM.gov, OSHA, DOL, EPA, and building permit records into a single timestamped report. Stop toggling between government websites.
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