Lee County, NC Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Lee County Code § 8-92 requires anyone conducting business as a peddler, itinerant merchant, flea market, flea market operator or flea market vendor in the county to apply to the county for a permit. The applicant pays a nonrefundable $25.00 application fee up front, and the application must sit on file at least two weeks while the Lee County Sheriff's Department investigates the applicant's background. If approved, the applicant must submit proper credentials and proof of financial stability, then pay an additional $75.00 fee when the permit is issued; the permit is valid for one year only.

Section 8-93 separately bars a peddler or itinerant merchant from going onto private residences to solicit sales unless requested or invited by the owner or occupant, and § 8-94 bars using county property as a sales stand. Section 8-95 exempts several categories from the permit requirement, including sellers of their own farm or nursery products, crafts or personal household property, nonprofit charitable or religious organizations, sellers of specified staple goods like bread or seafood, licensed auto dealers, peddlers who make at least 90 percent of sales from a fixed permanent county location, itinerant merchants at licensed farmer's markets or agricultural fairs, disabled veterans, and widows with dependent children who apply to the board of commissioners.