Lake Havasu City, AZ Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

City Code § 5.08.020(A) makes it unlawful for any peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant to operate within Lake Havasu City without first obtaining a license under Chapter 5.08. Section 5.08.040 requires each applicant to complete the peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant license application in full, submit two passport-size photographs, pay the required fee, and provide a full set of fingerprints to the Lake Havasu City Police Department; the Police Department forwards prints to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which is authorized under A.R.S. § 41-1750 and Public Law 92-544 to run state and federal (FBI) criminal-history checks to evaluate the applicant's fitness.

The city has 10 business days to tell an applicant if more information is needed. Under § 5.08.060, the applicant's business and character are investigated as necessary, and the applicant must be endorsed or rejected within 14 calendar days after the Police Department receives the fingerprint results; if denied, the applicant gets written reasons and 30 days to fix any deficiency without filing a new application. On approval, the Police Department issues the license along with a city photo ID card showing the licensee's name, photo, license class, authorized goods, and expiration date; § 5.08.080 requires wearing that original badge at all times while peddling, soliciting, or exhibiting, and a copied or facsimile badge cannot substitute for it.

Section 5.08.090 charges city police with demanding the license from anyone peddling or soliciting who is not known to be licensed and lets police temporarily seize and suspend a license under § 5.08.100 for fraud, unauthorized use, or a defaced ID (with 'immediate proximity' defined at 10 feet). Religious, charitable, patriotic, and philanthropic solicitation is exempt from the § 5.08.070 fee under § 5.08.050 if the applicant submits proof of federal tax-exempt status; wholesale sales, newspaper carriers, regular merchant deliveries, court-ordered sales, and bona fide auctions are exempt entirely under § 5.08.030.