Montebello, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required for
- peddlers, solicitors, itinerant vendors
- Application requires
- photo, fingerprints, moral-character review
- Original permit fee
- $15, renewal $10
- Annual business license tax
- $284.26 per year
- Denial appeal window
- 10 days to city clerk
- Violation penalty
- misdemeanor, separate offense per day
Summary
In the City of Montebello, anyone who peddles or solicits house to house or along city streets needs a permit before starting, under Montebello Municipal Code Section 5.04.220(J) and (Q). The license collector investigates the applicant's moral character before issuing it, and the annual business license tax for the activity is $284.26.
"Peddler" means any person who goes from house to house, place to place, or in or along the streets within the city selling or making immediate delivery, or offering for sale and immediate delivery, any goods, wares or merchandise, or anything of value, in possession of the peddler, or offering to perform personal services, to persons other than manufacturers, wholesalers, jobbers or retailers in such commodities. ... "Solicitor" means any person who engages in the business of going from house to house, place to place, in or along the streets within the city, selling or taking orders for goods, wares or merchandise, or other things of value for future delivery, or for services to be performed in the future. ... No person shall engage in any of the enumerated businesses without first obtaining a permit therefor in the manner prescribed in this chapter: ... J.Peddler; ... Q.Solicitors. ... 8.Peddler, solicitor, or itinerant vendor: Two hundred eighty-four dollars and twenty-six cents per year.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 5.04 of the Montebello Municipal Code defines a peddler in Section 5.04.030 as anyone who goes house to house or along the streets selling or making immediate delivery of goods or offering personal services, and a solicitor as anyone doing the same for orders on future delivery or future services. Section 5.04.220 lists peddlers, solicitors, and itinerant vendors among the enumerated businesses that cannot operate without first obtaining a permit. Section 5.04.230 requires a verified application with the applicant's name and address, a description of the business, a personal description, identifying photographs, and fingerprints and thumbprints.
Section 5.04.240 directs the license collector to refer the application to city department heads, typically the chief of police, to determine whether the applicant is of good moral character and whether the business would be detrimental to public peace, health, safety, morals, or welfare; if so, the permit issues subject to conditions the collector finds necessary. Section 5.04.250 lets a denied applicant appeal to the city clerk within ten days for city council review. Section 5.04.260 requires the permit be carried at all times and exhibited on request while going door to door.
Section 5.04.290 sets a fifteen-dollar filing fee for an original permit and ten dollars for renewal, and Section 5.08.010(A)(8) sets the annual business license tax for a peddler, solicitor, or itinerant vendor at two hundred eighty-four dollars and twenty-six cents.
Violations & Fines
Operating as a peddler or solicitor in Montebello without the Section 5.04.220 permit or the required business license is a misdemeanor under Section 5.04.400, with each day of continued violation charged as a separate offense. Section 5.04.310 lets the license collector suspend a permit up to fifteen days per violation, or revoke it, for false statements on the application or for conduct detrimental to public peace, health, safety, morals, or welfare, with a right of appeal to the city council under Section 5.04.310(F).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Montebello require a permit for door-to-door solicitors?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montebello
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