St. Clair County, IL Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

The application goes to the County Clerk's office on a county-supplied form and must truthfully state the applicant's name, age, address, marital status, physical description, employer, the product or service offered, and the proposed method of operating in the county, plus anything else the Sheriff wants, including fingerprinting (Sec. 8-1-4). The Clerk keeps a complete record of every application, including any denials. Under Section 8-1-5 the Clerk may forward the file to the Sheriff, who investigates the applicant's business character and reports back within 10 days; the Clerk can then issue a registration card or deny the application.

A certificate can be revoked if the holder is convicted of violating this chapter, any other county ordinance, or state or federal law, or made a false statement on the application; revocation is effective the day the Clerk mails the notice by certified or registered mail. Every certificate expires January 1 regardless of issue date (Sec. 8-1-6). Charitable and non-profit solicitors, census takers and church surveyors are exempt from registration and the fee if pre-authorized in writing by the Clerk, but they still must carry that letter and follow the Section 8-1-9 hours limit.

Residents under 16 are exempt from the fee requirement too. Solicitors working inside a municipality like Belleville or O'Fallon are exempt from this county article entirely under Section 8-1-11, since the municipality's own ordinance governs there.