Fountain Valley, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: No-Knock Registry (2026)

Section 4.20.025 of the Fountain Valley Municipal Code fixes one window for solicitors in the City of Fountain Valley: nine a.m. to one hour before sunset. Because the closing time is tied to sunset, the cutoff moves earlier in winter and later in summer, while the nine a.m. start does not change.

The window applies to a "solicitor" or "canvasser," which section 4.20.020 defines as any individual, resident of the city or not, traveling by foot, wagon, automobile, motor truck or any other conveyance from place to place, house to house or street to street, taking or trying to take orders for goods, personal property or future services. It applies whether or not the person carries a sample and whether or not advance payment is collected.

Chapter 4.20 does not create a do-not-knock list, a resident registry or a sign that binds solicitors. What residents get is the hours limit plus the permit system behind it. Section 4.20.050 requires an application with fingerprints, photographs and business documents, and section 4.20.090 requires any solicitor, peddler or merchant selling within the city limits to exhibit the permit at the request of any citizen. Under 4.20.070 any police officer can require a person who is not known to be licensed to produce the license, and the city's law enforcement agency has the duty to enforce the chapter. A person convicted of a felony is prima facie disqualified from a permit under 4.20.060, and a solicitor who changes the type of goods or services must reapply under 4.20.080.

The permit itself expires after one year under section 4.04.130, so a solicitor working the neighborhood needs a current permit as well as compliance with the hours.