Garland, TX Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Section 26.51(A) makes it unlawful to engage in a "commercial home solicitation," defined in §26.50 as an in-person or door-to-door sales pitch for goods, services or realty, without a valid written permit from the Chief of Police; purely noncommercial or charitable solicitation needs no permit. The written application under §26.51(B) must give the applicant's name, birthdate and address; the solicitation period and how often the applicant expects to solicit during the year; the sales methods to be used; the goods or services offered; and, for applicants under 16, a parental consent form under Texas Labor Code §51.0145.

Applicants must disclose felony convictions or fraud-related misdemeanors from the past ten years, civil liability for fraud or deceptive practices, and any injunction tied to business activity. A nonrefundable fee set in the Master Fee and Rate Schedule (Chapter 10, §10.85) and a passport-style photo must accompany the application. The Chief of Police has ten working days to issue or deny the permit (§26.51(D)/§26.52(A)) and may revoke it for false statements, article violations, or fraudulent conduct (§26.52(B)); a denial or revocation can be appealed in writing to the City Manager within ten days, with a decision due within five days of the hearing, and a revocation bars reapplication for 18 months.

Permits are valid up to one year and must be carried and displayed while soliciting (§26.51(F)-(G)). Section 26.53 layers on citywide rules: residents may post a weatherproof "No Soliciting" card at least 3" by 4" to bar all solicitors; solicitation before 30 minutes before sunrise or after sunset is presumptively unreasonable; children 15 or younger may not solicit unless within 1,000 feet of home or supervised; and registered sex offenders and people convicted of burglary, theft, trespass or mischief within specified periods are ineligible for any permit.