Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide:

• Account information: name, business name, email address, phone number, mailing address, and password (stored as a salted hash, never in plain text).
• Professional credentials: contractor license type and number, license expiration date, insurance carrier, policy number, and expiration date, as required for permit applications.
• Permit application data: property addresses, block and lot numbers, project descriptions, construction values, and all forms and documents you upload (plans, specifications, insurance certificates, affidavits).
• Payment information: processed and stored by Stripe, Inc. We do not store full payment card numbers on our servers.
• Communications: messages you send to us and support requests.
• Collected automatically: log data (IP address, browser type, device information, pages viewed, timestamps, and actions taken, maintained in audit logs) and essential cookies for authentication and session management. We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.
• From municipalities: review decisions, comments, inspection results, and permit statuses entered by municipal officials regarding your applications.

2. How We Use Information

We do NOT sell personal information. We do NOT use your data for third-party advertising. We do NOT process personal data for targeted advertising or profiling that produces legal effects.

• To provide the service: validating, transmitting, and tracking permit applications; calculating fees; processing payments; generating certificates.
• To communicate: transactional emails about your applications (status changes, approvals, rejections, inspection schedules) sent via our email provider, Resend.
• To maintain security: fraud detection, audit logging, access control, and abuse prevention.
• To comply with law: records-retention requirements applicable to each permit type (for New Jersey construction permits, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.16A).
• To improve the Platform: aggregated, de-identified analytics about rejection patterns, approval timelines, and platform performance. De-identified data cannot reasonably be linked back to you.

3. How We Share Information

We do not share personal information with data brokers, advertisers, or unrelated third parties.

• With government agencies: your permit applications and supporting documents are transmitted to the municipal enforcing agency you designate. Once received, those records are government records subject to the municipality's retention schedules and public-records laws.
• With service providers (sub-processors): Stripe, Inc. (payment processing), Resend (transactional email delivery), and Atlantic.Net, Inc. (infrastructure hosting, United States data centers). Each processes data only as necessary to provide its service to us.
• For legal reasons: in response to valid legal process, to enforce our Terms, or to protect rights, safety, and security.
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to this policy's protections.

4. Public Records Notice

Permit records held by municipalities may be accessible to the public under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act. Our public permit-lookup feature displays only limited, non-sensitive information: permit number, permit type, status, relevant dates, property address, and inspection results. It does not display your contact information, license numbers, uploaded documents, or reviewer comments.

5. Data Security

No security measure is perfect. In the event of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and applicable authorities as required by New Jersey's data-breach notification law (N.J.S.A. 56:8-163), which requires disclosure to affected New Jersey residents without unreasonable delay and notice to the New Jersey State Police prior to disclosure to affected customers.

• Encryption at rest using AES-256-GCM for documents and sensitive data.
• Encryption in transit using TLS for all connections.
• Ed25519 digital signatures for document integrity verification.
• Role-based access controls and per-municipality data isolation.
• Two-factor authentication required for all accounts.
• Dedicated infrastructure: permit data is processed and stored on dedicated servers we operate and control at Atlantic.Net data centers located in the United States. We do not use third-party data processing beyond our named sub-processors (Stripe, Resend, Atlantic.Net).

6. Data Retention

We retain account data for as long as your account is active and as needed afterward for legal, accounting, and dispute-resolution purposes. Permit application records are retained in accordance with the laws and records-retention schedules applicable to the permit type and issuing agency. For New Jersey construction permits, municipal copies of permit records are retained by municipalities per N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.16A, which provides for retention for the life of the building for key documents. Audit logs are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may have rights to: (a) confirm whether we process your personal data and access it; (b) correct inaccuracies; (c) delete personal data (subject to legal retention obligations — we cannot delete records that law requires us or municipalities to retain); (d) obtain a portable copy of your data; and (e) opt out of targeted advertising, sale, or profiling (we do not engage in these practices). To exercise rights, email privacy@permitmaid.com. We will respond within 45 days. If we decline a request, you may appeal by replying to our decision, and we will respond to appeals within 45 days. New Jersey residents may contact the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs if dissatisfied with the outcome.

8. Children's Privacy

The Platform is intended for business and professional use by adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn we have collected such information, we will delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We will post any changes with an updated effective date and notify account holders by email of material changes at least fifteen (15) days before they take effect.

10. Contact

Permit Maid LLC — Newark, New Jersey. Privacy inquiries: privacy@permitmaid.com. General: contact@permitmaid.com.