Jacksonville Beach, FL Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Section 21-21 of the Jacksonville Beach Code makes it unlawful to engage in business as a peddler within the city without first obtaining a permit. Section 21-1 defines peddler to include solicitors and transient or itinerant merchants, vendors and photographers, so one permit system covers door-to-door sales of goods, wares, merchandise and services.

The application under § 21-22 must state whether the applicant has been convicted of any crime, misdemeanor or violation of a state or federal law or municipal ordinance, with the offense, the penalty and the place of conviction. It also requires a written certificate from a practicing physician in the county, dated not more than five (5) days before filing, that the applicant is free of infectious, contagious or communicable diseases. The remaining items are whether the applicant will take advance payment, the period of time the applicant wants to do business, the local and permanent address, the name and address of any person represented, the kind of goods or services, the last five (5) cities or towns where the applicant worked, and any other relevant information needed for the investigation.

At filing, the applicant presents a driver's license, if the applicant has one, to the chief of police (§ 21-23) and submits to fingerprinting and photographing by the chief of police (§ 21-25). Giving false or misleading information is unlawful (§ 21-24). The fee in § 21-26 runs from $5.00 per day, $10.00 per week and $25.00 per month to $50.00 per three months, $75.00 per six months and $100.00 per twelve months. Section 21-27 requires a bond of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) with a surety company authorized to do business in Florida, conditioned on final delivery under any order and on indemnifying customers for defects discovered within thirty (30) days after delivery. Section 21-28 makes the city clerk the applicant's agent for service of process, including suits on the bond.

Permits go to individuals only. Section 21-30 bars issuance to a corporation, partnership or other impersonal legal entity, and each person peddling needs a permit even when acting as an agent of another. The city clerk signs and dates the permit and states its term; a permit not so dated and signed is void (§ 21-31). The permit must be displayed on request (§ 21-32) and can be revoked for violating the Code, state law or a city ordinance (§ 21-34).