Mount Vernon, NY Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Article II of Chapter 194, Canvassing and Soliciting, adopted in 1969, makes it unlawful to enter private residential property in Mount Vernon without the occupant's prior consent to canvass, vend, or solicit orders for merchandise, books, or printed matter, to solicit alms or contributions for a church or charity, to distribute handbills outside what Chapter 145 already allows, or to sell tickets or chances, unless the person first holds a license from the City Clerk under § 194-21. Three groups are exempt from the license itself: holders of a General Business Law § 32 license, people soliciting orders for meats, fish, fruit, or farm products they produced themselves, and anyone who has been a bona fide Mount Vernon resident or has run a business in the city for at least six months.

Section 194-22 requires a sworn application listing the applicant's residence history, past employers, any felony or misdemeanor charges and their dispositions, and any prior peddling or vending licenses, including any that were revoked, and bars a license to anyone convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving theft or moral turpitude. Section 194-23 adds fingerprinting of both hands, run through the state Division of Criminal Justice Services under the Commissioner of Public Safety, before any license issues. Section 194-24 sets the fee at $200 for a one-year term, and § 194-25 adds a $5 identification card bearing the licensee's photo and the City seal.

, Monday through Saturday, excluding legal holidays, and § 194-27 voids the license's authority to enter any property posted with a sign barring canvassing or soliciting, on top of banning unconsented touching or blocking foot or vehicle traffic.