Gilroy, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Gilroy City Code Section 16A.1 requires an identity permit for anyone offering or selling goods, merchandise or services from place to place, on private property, on streets, parks or other public places, from any building or enclosure, or from any vehicle, unless the person has a fixed and permanent city business already licensed under Section 13.40 or 13.42 or is licensed and regulated by the state. Garage sales and holiday crafts sales at a person's own residence are exempted from the identity-permit requirement.

The application goes to the chief of police on city forms and must disclose the applicant's name, permanent and local addresses, and, for a firm or corporation, the identity of everyone who will actually vend or solicit on its behalf, plus a description of what is being sold and how delivery will be made (Section 16A.2). Applicants must submit two one-inch photographs (Section 16A.4) and be fingerprinted by the police department, with prints forwarded to the FBI and the California Department of Justice; residents of five or more years may be exempt from fingerprinting (Section 16A.7). Where advance payment is taken, a cash deposit or surety bond may be required, held for ninety days after the permit expires (Section 16A.5).

Before issuing a permit, the police department investigates the applicant's character and fitness. The chief of police must refuse a permit if the applicant was arrested for or convicted of specified crimes, including offenses involving moral turpitude, violence, weapons or drugs, within the previous 36 months, and may refuse for such history within 60 months, subject to appeal to the city council (Section 16A.8). Issued permits expire after one year and are non-transferable (Section 16A.10).