Albany, OR Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Chapter 5.08 of the Albany Municipal Code, Peddlers and Solicitors, covers door-to-door selling in the City of Albany, Oregon. Section 5.08.010 makes it unlawful to engage in business as a peddler or solicitor within the corporate limits without first obtaining a license. Section 5.08.020 defines the term as any door-to-door salesperson who sells or offers for sale any merchandise or services by traveling about the City in residential districts.

Application goes to the City Recorder on a sworn, written form furnished by the Recorder (§ 5.08.030). It asks for the name and description of the applicant; the permanent address and any local address; a brief description of the business and the goods or services to be sold, including a statement, for farm or orchard products, of whether the applicant grew them; and, if the applicant is employed, the name and address of the employer with credentials establishing the relationship. Except for nonprofit organizations, a photograph two inches by two inches showing head and shoulders, taken within 60 days before filing, is required. On receipt of the application and fee, the City Recorder issues a license card showing the signature of the issuing officer, the name, address and photograph of the licensee, the kind of goods to be sold, the date of issuance, and the expiration date (§ 5.08.040). If the Chief of Police endorses the application unsatisfactory, the Recorder notifies the applicant that it is disapproved and states the reasons. All licenses run from January 1st to December 31st, inclusive (§ 5.08.050). The eCode360 text of § 5.08.050 prints the fee amounts as blank brackets, so this page does not state a dollar figure.

Section 5.08.055 exempts from the application and fee requirement those selling products of the farm or orchard actually produced by the seller, newspaper carriers soliciting subscriptions, people calling on business firms for goods or services regularly used in the firm's business, deliveries of items ordered by a resident or sold by an area merchant, and schools or nonprofit corporations with federal tax exempt status and their agents.

On the street, a license cannot be used by anyone other than the person it was issued to (§ 5.08.060), and the holder must exhibit the license card at the request of any citizen (§ 5.08.070). Albany police officers are directed to require any unknown person seen peddling or soliciting to produce the card (§ 5.08.080). Section 5.08.120 bars shouting, outcries, or sound devices capable of being heard at a distance of more than 200 feet on streets, alleys, avenues, parks, or other public places.