Bessemer, AL Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- General peddler license
- None; state law licenses peddlers instead
- Security filing
- Required before taking pre-paid solicitation orders
- Filed with
- City clerk and treasurer
- Sidewalk display hours
- 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. only
- Liability insurance, sidewalk sales
- $100,000 per person / $300,000 per accident
- Max penalty
- $500 fine and/or six months imprisonment
Summary
Bessemer does not run a general peddler license system, but Code § 22-394 requires anyone soliciting orders for goods that require payment before delivery to file security with the city clerk and treasurer first, guaranteeing that the ordered goods actually arrive.
No person shall solicit within the city limits orders, where no license is required, for goods or other articles of value, where such solicitors require a payment before such goods are delivered, without first filing with the city clerk and treasurer security to be approved by the city clerk and treasurer to ensure the delivery of the goods or other articles of value sold or for which the order was taken. This section shall not be so construed as to tax interstate commerce.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Republication).
Full Breakdown
Article X of Chapter 22, Peddlers and Solicitors, is short, and it does not create a citywide license or permit for door-to-door selling; the state already licenses peddlers and itinerant vendors under Code of Ala. 1975 §§ 40-12-139, 40-12-172 and 40-12-174. What the city ordinance adds is Section 22-394: a solicitor taking orders for goods or other articles of value, where the buyer pays before the goods are delivered, cannot do that within city limits without first filing security with the city clerk and treasurer.
The clerk and treasurer must approve that security, and its purpose is narrow, making sure the ordered goods actually get delivered to the buyer. The section is explicit that this filing requirement is not a tax on interstate commerce, and it applies specifically to solicitations where no license is required, since separately licensed sellers are covered elsewhere in the license schedule. 00 per accident in liability insurance.
Violations & Fines
Section 22-395's sidewalk-display violation is spelled out as a misdemeanor under the general penalty in Section 1-8, and the same penalty framework covers a failure to file the security required by Section 22-394: up to a $500.00 fine, up to six months' imprisonment or hard labor, or both, with continuing noncompliance treated as a new offense each day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Bessemer require a permit for door-to-door solicitors?
What happens if a solicitor doesn't file the required security in Bessemer?
Can I sell merchandise from Bessemer's sidewalks without a permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bessemer
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Solicitor Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Jefferson County handle solicitor permits.