Lynwood, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Section 4-1 defines a "peddler" as anyone who goes house to house, place to place, or along city streets selling or making immediate delivery of goods, wares, merchandise, or personal services, separate from a sidewalk vendor permitted under § 13-7. A "solicitor" is defined as anyone without a fixed place of business in the city who goes house to house or along the streets to sell, take orders for future delivery, or arrange future services. Section 4-6.7 requires every hawker, peddler, or solicitor without a fixed place of business, along with massage parlor operators, private detectives, private investigators, private police patrol operators, and taxi drivers, to obtain an identification card from the police department, which must be presented to the license collector before any business license can be issued.

Chapter 4-6 sets related preconditions: a separate license is required for each place of business (§ 4-6.2), and a license does not authorize an otherwise illegal business (§ 4-5.1). Limited exemptions exist under § 4-6.5, including for honorably discharged veterans unable to work by manual labor, who may peddle without a fee upon showing discharge and disability certificates, and for handicapped or indigent persons the city council exempts on a case-by-case basis. Fees for peddling categories, including food, dairy, and merchandise carts, are set by council resolution under the fee schedule listed at PEDDLERS in Chapter 4.