Escambia County, FL Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Chapter 18, Article VI defines an "itinerant vendor" as any person, firm or corporation engaged in temporary or transient sales in unincorporated Escambia County who, to carry on that business, rents, leases or occupies a room, lot, structure or vehicle to sell goods, and who has little or no ties to the community (§ 18-314). Before offering anything for sale, § 18-316 makes it unlawful to sell, offer, or exhibit goods without first securing a license permit from the county tax collector, applied for at least ten days ahead of the planned sale (waivable for good cause) under § 18-317(a).

The application must include a description of the merchandise, corporate paperwork if applicable, start and end dates matching the vendor's state Temporary Off-Premises sales permit, an affidavit of no pending consumer complaints, and a bond of at least $10,000 or ten percent of anticipated sales, whichever is greater, payable to the Board of County Commissioners (§ 18-317(b)). The permit number must appear in every advertisement for the sale (§ 18-317(c)). After the sale closes, the vendor has seven days to file a verified sales report and ten days to file a sworn affidavit confirming goods were delivered in working order (§ 18-320).

The vendor must also notify the tax collector and the Escambia County Sheriff's Office at least five days before the sale begins, providing onsite manager and security contact information (§ 18-324). A vendor whose actual sales exceed the anticipated estimate by more than 50 percent is deemed to have acted in bad faith and can be denied future permits (§ 18-320(d)).