High Point, NC Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Section 11-5-1 defines a "solicitor or canvasser" as anyone traveling house to house or street to street taking orders for goods or future services, and a "peddler" as anyone selling for immediate delivery or delivery within 24 hours. Both definitions exempt solicitors who deal only with industrial, commercial, or professional establishments, those selling only agricultural or forest products, state-licensed insurance solicitors, and representatives of schools or approved charitable, religious, or educational organizations that have complied with the business license tax ordinance. Everyone else must apply under § 11-5-4 by personally filing a sworn form with the director of police services listing name, home and local addresses, the goods or services offered, employer information if acting as an agent, the permit length requested, where the goods are produced or located, two 2-inch by 2-inch photos taken within the prior 60 days, fingerprints, a statement of prior convictions, and a physician's statement, dated within 10 days, certifying freedom from contagious, infectious, or communicable disease, plus the council-set fee.

Under § 11-5-5, the director must deny a permit if the applicant's criminal record shows the health and safety of people solicited could be menaced by a breach of the peace or assault, though a denied applicant may appeal to city council within 14 days. Permits run for the city's July 1 to June 30 fiscal year unless a shorter term is requested, must be shown to any police or tax officer on demand under § 11-5-8, and renew free of charge between June 1 and July 1 under § 11-5-12.

The director may revoke a permit under § 11-5-9 for fraud in the application or in conducting business, any violation of the article, unlawful or abusive conduct that breaches the peace or menaces a resident's privacy, or a conviction for a crime of moral turpitude during the permit year; revocation requires mailed notice and carries the same 14-day appeal right to council under § 11-5-10 and § 11-5-11.