Dane County, WI Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required from
- County Clerk, ch. 61.01(1)
- Application fee
- $110 nonrefundable, ch. 61.01(3)(k)
- Background check
- Sheriff investigates within 30 days
- Permit term
- Max 1 year, expires Dec 31
- Jurisdiction limit
- N/A in towns/cities with own ordinance, ch. 61.06
- Penalty
- Up to $300/day, ch. 61.01(13)
Summary
Anyone soliciting house to house for contributions, orders, or sales in unincorporated Dane County needs a Solicitor's Permit from the County Clerk first: fingerprints, a photo, and a $110 nonrefundable fee for a Sheriff's background investigation are required. Cities, towns, and villages with their own solicitor ordinance are exempt from this county rule entirely.
61.01 SOLICITOR'S AND CANVASSER'S PERMITS. (1) Permit Required. No person shall travel from house to house for the purpose of soliciting contributions for any cause from the occupants thereof, or to canvass for orders for goods, wares, merchandise, or services of any character or description, or for the purposes of offering to give or to furnish any goods, wares, merchandise, or services to any such occupant or to induce or invite such orders, without having first applied for and received from the County Clerk a Solicitor's Permit to do so. ... (k) At the time of filing the application, a nonrefundable fee of one hundred ten dollars ($110) shall be paid to the County Clerk to cover the cost of investigation of the facts stated therein. The fee for an annual renewal application shall be one hundred ten dollars ($110).
Full Breakdown
01(1) requires anyone traveling house to house to solicit contributions, canvass for orders, or offer goods, wares, merchandise, or services to first obtain a Solicitor's Permit from the County Clerk. 01(3) demands the applicant's name and signature, fingerprints taken by a law enforcement agency, a recent 2-by-2-inch photo, home and local addresses, a description of the goods sold, any prior criminal or ordinance convictions, the last three cities or villages where the applicant did business, and a nonrefundable $110 fee that covers the Sheriff's investigation; renewal costs another $110 annually.
01(5) gives the Sheriff 30 days to investigate the applicant's character and business responsibility before the Clerk can issue or deny the permit. 01(2) and (6) cover political candidates, merchants delivering in the regular course of business, government agents, and veterans holding a special state license under Wis. 01(4) lets qualifying nonprofit charitable, fraternal, labor, religious, patriotic, or political organizations solicit for free after filing a sworn application. 01(10)-(11). 06 confines this whole chapter to areas outside any town, city, or village that has adopted its own solicitor ordinance, so Madison, Sun Prairie, and similar municipalities govern their own solicitors instead.
Violations & Fines
Soliciting without a permit, or violating any provision of Section 61.01, carries a forfeiture of up to $300 per offense under Section 61.01(13), with each day of continued violation counted as a separate offense. The County Clerk can also revoke a permit for fraud, misrepresentation, breach of the peace, or a crime involving moral turpitude, and a revoked or denied applicant must wait six months before reapplying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to go door-to-door selling in Dane County?
How much does the permit cost?
Is anyone exempt from the permit?
Does this permit apply inside Madison or Sun Prairie?
What's the penalty for soliciting without a permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dane County
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