# GovDir

> GovDir is a free directory of official government websites and offices for property, land and map questions across the United States: which county, city, town or township covers a place, which office assesses property, collects tax, records deeds, handles zoning, issues permits and runs the GIS map, with official links that are checked on a schedule.

GovDir is a guide, not an authority. Every link comes from its directory and carries `official`, `verified_status` and `verified_at`. The office named for a job has the final say. Screening facts (flood, wetlands, soils, elevation, radon) are never an official determination. Results are the same for every caller; no office pays to appear or rank. Do not use GovDir to look up people.

## API

- [API overview](https://www.govdir.com/docs/api): keys, limits, paging, errors, deprecation policy
- [API reference](https://www.govdir.com/docs/api/reference): every endpoint and field
- [OpenAPI 3.1 document](https://api.govdir.com/v1/openapi.json): machine-readable description
- Base URL: https://api.govdir.com/v1 (no key needed for light use)
- `GET /jurisdictions/resolve?lat=&lon=` or `?address=` or `?place=&state=`: the jurisdiction chain (Census GEOIDs such as `county:27053`) and the responsible office per function
- `GET /resources?jurisdiction_id=&topic=` or `?lat=&lon=&topic=`: ranked official resources for a topic
- `GET /places/{jurisdiction_id}`: the full directory for one place
- `GET /topics`: the topic vocabulary (parcel_map, assessor, property_tax_payment, recorder_deeds, zoning, floodplain and more)
- `GET /guides/{topic}?state=`: plain-language guide text and the state's rules
- `GET /screening?lat=&lon=`: point screening with sources, dates, caveats and the deciding office
- `GET /search?q=&state=`: places and resources by name
- `GET /county-data?q=`: county-wide parcel answers from PublicGIS, such as the biggest or most valuable parcels in a county
- There is no REST endpoint for one property: single-property parcel facts are available only through the MCP tool `get_property_facts`

## MCP server

- Endpoint: https://api.govdir.com/mcp (remote MCP over Streamable HTTP, protocol 2026-07-28 and the earlier revisions; no sign-in; rate limited per network address)
- Tools, all read-only: `resolve_jurisdiction` (who handles what at an address, point or place), `find_official_resource` (the official page for a topic), `get_place_directory`, `search_directory`, `get_guide`, `screen_location` (flood, wetlands, soils, elevation and radon screening), `get_property_facts` (parcel facts for one property from PublicGIS where it covers the place, never owner names; the REST API has no equivalent), `county_parcel_data` (county-wide parcel answers)
- Resource template: `gisfinder://place/{jurisdiction_id}`
- [MCP server page](https://www.govdir.com/docs/mcp): how to connect Claude, ChatGPT, VS Code, Cursor and other clients, tools and limits
- MCP Registry name: `com.govdir/directory`

## Optional

- [Guides](https://www.govdir.com/guides): food, cash, health, unemployment, energy, housing, child care, child support, veterans, senior and disability help, unclaimed money, finding a land owner, how deeds are recorded, how property taxes work
- [About GovDir](https://www.govdir.com/about): how links are checked and how the directory is kept