Arcadia, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required for
- Peddling and soliciting under Sections 6611.1 and 6611.2
- Permit term
- 180 days, not transferable
- Decision deadline
- Ten days, deemed granted if the City fails to act
- Badge
- White with black lettering, photograph under six months old
- Issuing officer
- License Officer or designee
- After revocation
- No new permit for one calendar year
Summary
Anyone peddling or soliciting from house to house in the City of Arcadia, California needs a permit from the License Officer before starting. The permit is valid for 180 days, cannot be transferred, and must be carried along with a white badge showing the permit number, expiration date, name, and a photograph taken within the previous six months.
No person shall exercise, practice or engage in any activity as described in Sections 6611.1 or 6611.2 unless such person obtains a permit as provided in this chapter and pays the application and permit fees required by this chapter. ... Certificates issued hereunder shall be valid for a period of one hundred eighty (180) days unless revoked pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. A new application must be made for each certificate. ... Each applicant for a permit must at all times keep on his person the permit issued by the License Officer or designee. No person shall fail to wear a badge (as described herein) on his/her chest over the heart that indicates the number of the solicitation permit, its expiration date and the name of the permit holder; all badges to be white with black lettering that is legible at a distance of five feet (5') and to contain a photograph of the individual wearing each badge that has been taken within the previous six (6) months of the date of solicitation.
Full Breakdown
Article VI, Chapter 6 of the Arcadia Municipal Code regulates soliciting and peddling in the City of Arcadia, California. Peddling is traveling from place to place, house to house or street to street with goods, wares, or services offered for immediate sale. Soliciting covers requesting money or personal property, or taking orders for goods or services for future delivery. Section 6613 makes a permit mandatory for both, and the applicant pays the application and permit fees the chapter requires, with the fee set by resolution of the City Council under Section 6613.2.
Section 6613.1 requires the applicant to appear personally before the License Officer or designee with a signed, acknowledged application listing true and fictitious names, residences, place of birth, birth date, social security number, activity in the prior 12 months, the goods or services offered, and any felony conviction for murder, manslaughter, fraud, burglary or a sex crime. The License Officer grants or denies within ten days, and a failure to act means the permit is deemed granted (Section 6613.4). Section 6613.5 requires issuance unless the applicant has a listed conviction, and allows rejection if the activity does not comply with the applicable rules or the investigation finds the applicant's character or background unsatisfactory.
Permits last 180 days, need a new application each time, and cannot be transferred. Section 6613.13 requires the permit to be kept on the person and a badge worn on the chest over the heart. Section 6613.12 exempts persons with an established route, wholesale solicitation on business premises, and charitable or religious solicitations conducted solely by members at regular assemblies, meetings or services. Door-to-door handbill distribution (Section 6613.17) and charitable, religious and political canvassing (Section 6613.18) need no permit but stay subject to the chapter's rules. Applicants appeal Business License Review Board decisions to the City Council under Section 6613.11.
Violations & Fines
Section 6613.10 treats peddling or soliciting without a permit, or without following the chapter's regulations, as a nuisance and a separate violation for each day the activity is advertised, engaged in or carried on. Section 6614.4 adds that each separate act of soliciting or peddling without a permit is a separate offense for each day. Under Section 6613.9, the License Officer can suspend or revoke a permit, and a revoked permittee cannot get another for one calendar year. Under Section 6613.8, false statements let the Officer cancel a permit on five days' notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do charities and religious groups need a solicitor permit in the City of Arcadia?
How long does the City take to decide a solicitor permit?
What badge does a solicitor have to wear?
How long does a solicitor permit last, and can it be transferred?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Arcadia
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