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

Section 22-163 requires every solicitor or canvasser, defined in section 22-162 as anyone who goes house to house seeking orders or appointments for goods, wares, services or merchandise, to file an application with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office support division and obtain a permit before soliciting a single order. The sheriff's office has ten days to examine the applicant's police record. A pending charge or conviction for a crime of moral turpitude, an assault and battery offense, or a civil judgment for fraud or deceit is an automatic disqualifier.

The article also blocks repeat applicants: no application is accepted if a similar one was denied, dismissed or abandoned in the preceding 12 months, and no permit issues to anyone who violated the article, or a related law, within the prior 12 months. Applicants pay a fee set by the sheriff's office to cover investigation and regulation costs, though anyone who already paid a business license fee gets that amount credited toward the solicitor permit fee. Once issued, a permit is good for only 90 days from issuance and must be renewed with an updated investigative report to keep working.

Section 22-164 layers on an ongoing requirement: every solicitor must wear a visible badge showing their name, their company's name and an identification number in type large enough to read from ten feet, worn on the shoulder. The article exempts charitable or nonprofit representatives and students or parents fundraising for school-sponsored activities like a PTA or booster club.