Framingham, MA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Chapter 409, Transient Vendors, Hawkers and Peddlers, was adopted 1-5-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-006 as Article VIII, Section 4 of the former General Ordinances. Section 409-1 bars anyone from selling, soliciting or displaying goods, articles, wares or merchandise on the City's public ways without a Board of License Commissioners license, and § 409-2A extends that requirement to any temporary transient business selling goods, wares, periodicals or merchandise, or going door to door for commercial selling, requiring a sworn written application naming the applicant and the business's beneficial owner, plus submission to Police Department fingerprinting and photographing for identification; the license fee is set by the Council under § 409-2B, and the license itself must be worn visibly on the licensee's outer garment under § 409-2C.

Section 409-2D exempts garage sales, door-to-door solicitation for MGL c. 180, § 2 nonprofit purposes, and licensed food trucks and certain stationary ice cream trucks. Beyond the license, § 409-3 requires every peddler to record their name and residence with the Board before selling any item listed in MGL c. 101, § 17, and § 409-5 assigns each licensee a numbered badge that must be worn conspicuously, while § 409-6 requires a numbered plate on the vendor's vehicle showing the license expiration date. Section 409-7 bars issuing a badge or plate until the Sealer of Weights and Measures certifies the vendor's scales, and any false or unsealed device is grounds for revocation.

Section 409-9 lets the Council or the Board of License Commissioners revoke a license granted under the chapter, and § 409-8 makes clear that a City license does not override any state licensing requirement.