Catoosa County, GA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Catoosa County Code Article III of Chapter 19 (Sec. 19-42 through 19-50) governs every door-to-door canvasser and solicitor working the unincorporated county, rewritten by the Board of Commissioners on August 17, 2021. Sec. 19-42 states the purpose is protecting residents against crime and undue annoyance and against abusive solicitation and canvassing practices. Sec. 19-43 defines a solicitor broadly as anyone traveling door to door, house to house or along county streets to sell goods, take orders, or request contributions or pledges, a term that includes but is not limited to persons commonly referred to as peddlers.

Sec. 19-44 makes solicitation and canvassing unlawful on any private or public property in the unincorporated county unless the solicitor falls into one of the five exemptions listed in Sec. 19-45: guests invited by the owner, candidates or campaign workers for elective office, newspaper carriers making regular deliveries, food delivery representatives, and anyone canvassing for a political, charitable, religious or school purpose. Sec. 19-48 layers on a receipts duty: every solicitor who sells goods or takes a contribution must, on request, hand over a written receipt naming the solicitor, the business represented, the person solicited, the item or amount involved, and how a donation will be used.

The permit obligation itself surfaces in the penalty clause, Sec. 19-49(a), which charges a double permit fee against anyone who solicits without obtaining a permit before starting operations. That section sets criminal exposure at a $250 to $1,000 fine, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day of continued violation charged as a separate offense, and Sec. 19-49(b) requires the court to impose at least a $250 fine on every conviction.