Mount Pleasant, SC Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Every peddler/solicitor needs a Town business license
- Carry requirement
- Must carry license on person or in vehicle
- Penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 30 days jail (Sec. 110.19)
- Non-resident rate
- Non-resident/itinerant license rates are doubled
- Enforcer
- License Official and Mount Pleasant Police Department
Summary
In the Town of Mount Pleasant, anyone peddling, soliciting or operating as a transient merchant must hold the same business license required of every trade under Town Code Sec. 110.01, and Sec. 110.08(A) requires a peddler, transient or non-resident to carry that license on their person or in their vehicle for inspection by any town agent. Skipping the license risks prosecution under Sec. 110.19.
Every person engaged or intending to engage in any business, occupation, calling, profession, or activity engaged in with the object of gain, benefit, or advantage, in whole or in part, within the limits of the Town of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina ("town"), is required to obtain a business license as herein provided and pay an annual license tax for the privilege of doing business. ... A peddler, transient or non-resident shall carry the license upon his person or in a vehicle used in the business readily available for inspection by any authorized agent of the town.
Full Breakdown
The Town of Mount Pleasant does not carve out a separate peddler or solicitor permit chapter; door-to-door sellers, itinerant vendors and transient merchants fall under the same business license ordinance, Chapter 110, that governs every trade operating within town limits. 01 requires every person engaged or intending to engage in any business, occupation, calling, profession, or activity engaged in with the object of gain, benefit, or advantage to obtain a business license and pay the annual license tax before starting work, and the License Official, an officer or agent designated under Sec.
02, administers that requirement. Because a peddler or transient merchant typically has no fixed storefront where the license can be posted, Sec. 08(A) singles them out: rather than display the license on a wall, a peddler, transient or non-resident must carry the license upon his person or in a vehicle used in the business, readily available for inspection by any authorized agent of the town. Non-resident and itinerant operators also pay double the standard license rate under the Appendix A rate schedule referenced in Sec.
21. Selling without the license, or refusing to produce it when a Mount Pleasant police officer or code enforcement agent asks, exposes the seller to the general Chapter 110 violation penalty under Sec. 19: a fine of up to $500 or up to 30 days in jail, with each day of unlicensed peddling charged as a separate offense. A false or misleading license application is separately unlawful under Sec. 07. Anyone planning to solicit door to door in the Town of Mount Pleasant should apply through the town's business license page before knocking on a single door.
Violations & Fines
Peddling or soliciting door to door in the Town of Mount Pleasant without carrying the required business license is a Chapter 110 violation: Sec. 110.19 sets a fine of up to $500, imprisonment up to 30 days, or both, with each day of unlicensed activity treated as a separate offense. The License Official or any law enforcement officer may issue an ordinance summons, and filing a false license application under Sec. 110.07 is separately unlawful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Mount Pleasant require a separate permit just for door-to-door solicitors?
What happens if a solicitor in Mount Pleasant can't produce a license?
Do out-of-town solicitors pay a different license rate?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mount Pleasant
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