Government & Public Sector

Permit & License Application Follow-Up

Notify applicants of permit status, outstanding requirements, or inspection scheduling needs — reducing in-person counter visits.

Why this matters

Reach constituents at scale for benefits enrollment, permit follow-ups, public health outreach, and emergency notifications. This example shows you how to automate permit & license application follow-up calls end-to-end with Guava's SDK — no telephony plumbing, no prompt engineering, just Python.

How to set persona & task
Working with Fields and Say items
Handling callbacks
Running the agent
Step 01

Installation

Install from Guava's private PyPI index. A public package is coming soon — the install command will simplify to pip install guava.

terminal
# Step 1: Install Guava
pip install gridspace-guava --extra-index-url https://guava-pypi.gridspace.com

# Public PyPI package coming soon — the install command will simplify to:
# pip install guava

# Step 2: Set your credentials
export GUAVA_API_KEY="..."
export GUAVA_AGENT_NUMBER="..."
Step 02

How it's built

Every Guava agent is a Python class. Walk through the key sections below, then grab the complete file at the end.

01

Imports

Import the Guava SDK and any helpers you need. guava.CallController is the base class for every voice agent.

example.py
# Install: pip install gridspace-guava --extra-index-url https://guava-pypi.gridspace.com
import guava
import os
02

Agent setup

set_persona() defines how the agent presents itself. set_task() gives it its mission in plain English. The checklist drives the conversation — Guava works through it top-to-bottom, collecting Field values and speaking Say items as it goes.

example.py
class PermitFollowUpBot(guava.CallController):
    def __init__(self, applicant_name: str, permit_number: str, permit_type: str,
                 status: str, action_required: str):
        super().__init__()
        self.set_persona(
            organization_name="City Planning & Building Department",
            agent_name="Robin",
        )
        self.set_task(
            objective=f"Update {applicant_name} on permit {permit_number} status",
            checklist=[
                f"Identify yourself to {applicant_name} regarding permit {permit_number} for {permit_type}.",
                guava.Say(f"Current status: {status}. Action required: {action_required}."),
                guava.Field(
                    key="understands_requirement",
                    field_type="bool",
                    description="Does the applicant understand what action is required?",
                ),
                guava.Field(
                    key="needs_clarification",
                    field_type="bool",
                    description="Do they have questions about the requirement?",
                ),
                guava.Field(
                    key="inspection_scheduling",
                    field_type="bool",
                    description="Does this require scheduling a building inspection?",
                ),
                guava.Field(
                    key="inspection_slot",
                    field_type="calendar_slot",
                    description="Preferred inspection date",
                    required=False,
                    choice_generator=lambda: ["Mon AM", "Mon PM", "Wed AM", "Wed PM", "Fri AM"],
                ),
                guava.Field(
                    key="revised_submission_date",
                    field_type="date",
                    description="When does the applicant expect to complete the required action?",
                    required=False,
                ),
                "Provide permit portal URL and direct line for building department questions.",
            ],
            on_complete=lambda fields: print(f"Permit follow-up complete: {permit_number}"),
        )

guava.dial(
    controller=PermitFollowUpBot,
    controller_args={"applicant_name": "Oak Street Builders LLC",
                     "permit_number": "BP-2024-08847",
                     "permit_type": "residential addition",
                     "status": "on hold pending fire sprinkler plans",
                     "action_required": "submit revised fire sprinkler layout"},
    to=os.environ["APPLICANT_PHONE"],
    agent_number=os.environ["GUAVA_AGENT_NUMBER"],
    api_key=os.environ["GUAVA_API_KEY"],
)

Platform performance

<1s

Response time

99.99%

Uptime SLA

13+

Industries served

Step 03

Full example

The complete file — copy it, save it as example.py, and run it.

example.py
# Install: pip install gridspace-guava --extra-index-url https://guava-pypi.gridspace.com
import guava
import os

class PermitFollowUpBot(guava.CallController):
    def __init__(self, applicant_name: str, permit_number: str, permit_type: str,
                 status: str, action_required: str):
        super().__init__()
        self.set_persona(
            organization_name="City Planning & Building Department",
            agent_name="Robin",
        )
        self.set_task(
            objective=f"Update {applicant_name} on permit {permit_number} status",
            checklist=[
                f"Identify yourself to {applicant_name} regarding permit {permit_number} for {permit_type}.",
                guava.Say(f"Current status: {status}. Action required: {action_required}."),
                guava.Field(
                    key="understands_requirement",
                    field_type="bool",
                    description="Does the applicant understand what action is required?",
                ),
                guava.Field(
                    key="needs_clarification",
                    field_type="bool",
                    description="Do they have questions about the requirement?",
                ),
                guava.Field(
                    key="inspection_scheduling",
                    field_type="bool",
                    description="Does this require scheduling a building inspection?",
                ),
                guava.Field(
                    key="inspection_slot",
                    field_type="calendar_slot",
                    description="Preferred inspection date",
                    required=False,
                    choice_generator=lambda: ["Mon AM", "Mon PM", "Wed AM", "Wed PM", "Fri AM"],
                ),
                guava.Field(
                    key="revised_submission_date",
                    field_type="date",
                    description="When does the applicant expect to complete the required action?",
                    required=False,
                ),
                "Provide permit portal URL and direct line for building department questions.",
            ],
            on_complete=lambda fields: print(f"Permit follow-up complete: {permit_number}"),
        )

guava.dial(
    controller=PermitFollowUpBot,
    controller_args={"applicant_name": "Oak Street Builders LLC",
                     "permit_number": "BP-2024-08847",
                     "permit_type": "residential addition",
                     "status": "on hold pending fire sprinkler plans",
                     "action_required": "submit revised fire sprinkler layout"},
    to=os.environ["APPLICANT_PHONE"],
    agent_number=os.environ["GUAVA_AGENT_NUMBER"],
    api_key=os.environ["GUAVA_API_KEY"],
)
Step 04

Run it

Start the agent. It will connect to Guava's infrastructure and begin accepting calls on your assigned number.

terminal
python example.py
Get Started