Residents
Search for an address on the page they are already on — the homepage, a department page, a Spanish-language page — without being sent to a portal they do not understand.
Pillar 3
Search Accessibility
An embeddable live records search bar that places search on any page the jurisdiction controls — so residents find records where they already are, not on a separate portal they never reach.
The problem today
Residents start on the city website and get sent away
Residents start on the city website and get sent to a separate portal they do not understand. Here is what that feels like.
As a resident
I start on the city website looking for what is happening at an address. I get sent to a separate portal I do not understand, and I cannot find my way back.
As a staff member
Residents call the counter because they cannot find records on the website. The portal is a destination nobody reaches on their own.
As a leader
We paid for a public portal, but residents never arrive there. The records are public in name only if the public cannot reach them where they already are.
What AgencyCounter does
Live records search, embedded on your own pages
No permitting portal, GIS viewer or open-data platform offers an embeddable live records search bar. AgencyCounter InstantSearch does.
An embeddable live records search bar
AgencyCounter InstantSearch places live records search on any page the jurisdiction controls. A resident types an address and sees results without leaving the page they started on.
On any page you control
Homepage, department pages, Spanish-language pages, newsletters and partner sites. The search bar lives where residents already are — not on a separate portal they have to find.
No website redesign, no redirect
No redesign of your website, and no redirect to a separate portal. The bar is embedded on the pages you already publish. Upgraded in version 2.7.
Proof points: no website redesign; no redirect to a separate portal.
See the search bar on a live page
One bar, anywhere on your site
Place AgencyCounter InstantSearch on the homepage, a department page, a Spanish-language page, a newsletter or a partner site. Residents search by address and see results without leaving the page.
city_county.gov — Department of Development Services
Find permits, planning and property records
Search any address in the city.
Homepage
Live records search on the city homepage.
Department pages
Planning, building and GIS pages, each with their own search.
Spanish-language pages
The Spanish InstantSearch bar on Spanish pages.
Newsletters and partner sites
Embed on newsletters and partner organisation sites.
What others don't
Compared by category, not by name
No competitor or vendor is named. The comparison is against categories of product.
| Capability | AgencyCounter | Permitting-vendor Portal | GIS Viewer | Open-data Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embeddable live records search bar on any page | Yes | Separate portal only | Separate viewer only | Separate portal only |
| Residents search without leaving the page they started on | Yes | No | No | No |
| No website redesign, no redirect to a separate portal | Yes | No | No | No |
Who it helps
Everyone who uses your data
Professionals
Contractors, architects and realtors start a records search from any page the agency controls, then drill into the full parcel and permit view.
Staff across departments
Fewer counter calls. Residents who can search where they already are do not need to phone staff to find a record.
Leadership
The records the agency publishes actually reach the public — on the pages residents already visit, not on a portal nobody finds.
Questions agencies ask
Straight answers
Our vendor already has a portal.+
Permitting-vendor portals serve applicants and cover permits only, and they send residents to a separate destination. AgencyCounter InstantSearch embeds live records search on any page the jurisdiction controls — no redirect, no separate portal. Ask your current vendor to complete our comparison table in writing.
We have no IT capacity to redesign our website.+
There is no website redesign. AgencyCounter InstantSearch is an embeddable bar placed on the pages you already publish. No infrastructure, no rebuild — your web team drops the bar onto a page.
Can we change things ourselves?+
No, and that is deliberate. AgencyCounter is turnkey. You tell us what you need through support; we make the change under our change management protocols and document it as agreed with the jurisdiction. No administrator role, no risk of accidental changes.
What if it doesn't work out?+
The price is fixed for five years, your source systems are untouched, and your data is returned or deleted on termination. There is no lock-in.
See AgencyCounter in action.
A 20-minute live walkthrough of how residents, professionals and your staff find permits, zoning and property information in one public view. Nothing to prepare, and no access to your systems needed.