Jersey City, NJ Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Chapter 245, Article III of the Jersey City Code defines a "canvasser or solicitor" as anyone traveling house to house or street to street to take orders for goods, services, or real property, and § 245-12 bars that activity without a canvasser license. The § 245-14 application must be filed in duplicate with the City Treasurer under oath and must list the applicant's name, home and local addresses, employer, the nature of the business and goods sold, the length of time the license is sought for, a 2x2-inch photograph taken within the prior 60 days, fingerprints, references from two Hudson County property owners, any prior criminal or ordinance convictions, every municipality worked in over the past six months, and any customer complaints.

A fee under Chapter 160, Fees and Charges, covers the cost of investigation. Under § 245-15, the application goes to the Chief of Police, who can disapprove it for a criminal or ordinance conviction, fraud or misrepresentation in the application, or a history of unlawful business conduct. A denied applicant may appeal to the Director of Public Safety within 14 days under § 245-16. Licenses expire December 31 of the year issued (§ 245-18) and may be revoked after notice and hearing for fraud, an Article violation, a moral-turpitude conviction, or conduct constituting a breach of the peace (§ 245-17). Charitable, religious and political solicitation, and deliveries in the ordinary course of business, are exempt under § 245-13.