Birmingham, AL Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

City Code Chapter 14, Article B, Division 2 governs solicitation for charitable, educational, patriotic, or philanthropic purposes, whether in person, by telephone, or by any other manner. Sec. 12-14-21 requires a valid mayor-issued permit before that kind of solicitation or related ticket/subscription sale can occur, but exempts collections taken up at a church's regular services and city-employee solicitation drives authorized by council resolution. Sec. 12-14-22 extends the permit requirement to anyone representing a school or charitable institution who solicits subscriptions, sells tickets, or canvasses for advertising space in a program or pamphlet on that institution's behalf.

To apply, Sec. 12-14-23 requires a sworn application naming the organization and its officers, the solicitation's purpose, its planned duration and methods, the wages, fees, or commissions to be paid and who will collect money, and a statement of the charitable work already done in the city. Sec. 12-14-24 lets the mayor grant the permit unless the application would endanger public safety, health, or welfare, and Sec. 12-14-25 gives an applicant denied a permit five days to appeal to the city council. Once issued, Sec.

12-14-26 requires the solicitor to carry the permit, which must show the solicitor's name, the beneficiary, and the mayor's signature. Sec. 12-14-27 caps every permit at 30 days, including Sundays and holidays, though the mayor may renew it. Sec. 12-14-28 lets the mayor revoke a permit for violating the chapter, misrepresentation, or false statements, or if the permit is being used as an endorsement of the solicitation, with a five-day appeal right to the council. Sec. 12-14-29 separately makes it unlawful to swear falsely to facts in a permit application.

This permit scheme applies specifically to charitable-type appeals; general commercial peddling in the city is instead governed by the location and movement rules of Sec. 12-14-1 and 12-14-2.