Bergenfield, NJ Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Article II of Chapter 227, Peddling and Soliciting, adopted December 16, 1975 by Ordinance No. 1046, requires anyone who canvasses, solicits or calls house to house within Borough limits to first obtain a written permit and identification card from the Chief of Police under § 227-11. The application, governed jointly with § 198-2, must state where the goods or property being sold or ordered are manufactured or located and describe the proposed method of delivery. Once issued, the identification card must be displayed on request at all times while the permittee is canvassing, soliciting, distributing materials or calling house to house.

or sunset, whichever comes first, with no canvassing permitted on Sundays. The permit fee is $100 for each consecutive thirty-day period under § 227-14, but charitable and not-for-profit organizations recognized by the state or federal government pay no fee, and that exemption extends to individuals canvassing for a political candidate or cause. Section 227-16 further exempts wholesale sellers to retailers, merchants delivering newspapers or goods in the regular course of business, regulated public utility representatives carrying utility identification, and religious, public, civic or charitable organizations and individuals.

A violation of the fee requirement in § 227-14 is punishable under § 227-17 by a fine of $250 to $500 for a first offense, and $400 to $500 with up to six months in jail for a repeat offense within the same enforcement scheme used for peddlers under Article I.