Columbia, SC Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Chapter 11, Article VII, Division 2 of the Columbia Code covers charitable solicitations. Section 11-231 defines solicitation broadly to include any oral or written request for money, credit, property or other value made on the representation that it will be used for a charitable purpose, plus press or broadcast appeals, distributed handbills or advertisements, and sales of items like tickets, coupons or memberships tied to a charitable pitch; a solicitation is deemed to occur when the request is made, whether or not a contribution actually results.

C. ) and has filed proof of that compliance with the city business license division. That proof requirement can be satisfied by filing the registration or exemption certification issued by the public charities division of the South Carolina Secretary of State's office, so a charity already registered with the state need only hand the city that paperwork rather than undergo a separate city vetting process. Section 11-233 clarifies that complying with the charitable solicitation rules does not excuse a solicitor from also obtaining any business or professional license required under Article II of the same chapter if the activity independently triggers that requirement.