Appleton, WI Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

The license covers any "transient merchant," a term Sec. 9-611 defines to include peddlers, solicitors and canvassers who sell or take orders away from a fixed place of business, whether door to door or from a vehicle. Applicants file a sworn application with the City Clerk (Sec. 9-614) and pay an application fee covering an investigation by the Chief of Police and the Sealer of Weights and Measures, who must approve or deny within seven working days (Sec. 9-615). If the investigation raises concerns, the Chief of Police can require a $500 bond running to the City, conditioned on compliance with peddling laws and honoring the buyer's purchase terms (Sec.

9-616). Licenses run in fixed six-month terms, April 1 through September 30 and October 1 through March 31 (Sec. 9-617), are numbered, non-transferable, and must be displayed or exhibited on demand of any officer or customer. Applicants under 18 also need a separate street trade permit under Sec. 25. A license is not valid in the Central Business District on Flag Day Parade, Octoberfest or Christmas Parade days, or within two blocks of any other special event in the city. Anyone denied or revoked cannot reapply for six months unless the underlying reason no longer exists.

A denial can be appealed to the Safety and Licensing Committee, which reports a recommendation to the Common Council for a final grant-or-deny vote (Sec. 9-618). Wholesale sellers, newsboys, minors under 18 selling magazines for their own profit, and route delivery of dairy, bakery or grocery products to regular customers are exempt (Sec. 9-612); religious and charitable solicitors fall instead under the separate charitable solicitation permit in Sec. 9-641 et seq.