DeKalb County, GA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Section 15-241 is written to close gaps. It covers any person engaged in, or even desiring to engage in, any type of selling, soliciting, canvassing, survey-making or any other business, occupation or vocation that by its nature requires going from door to door or house to house. It applies on a temporary or a permanent basis, so a weekend canvasser needs the permit as much as a full-time salesperson does, and it applies whether or not the work is for a religious, charitable, nonprofit or profit-making organization, so the purpose behind the knock does not by itself remove the permit requirement.

The geography is specific: the rule covers the residential areas of the unincorporated areas of the county. Getting the permit runs through the police department. Applicants complete a detailed questionnaire under Section 15-242 covering identity, employer and criminal history, pass a background check, and, after obtaining a business license, receive a photo permit from the police department. The permit is personal to its holder: lending, renting or selling the permit card to another person is itself a violation. Registered nonprofits have a separate path, treated as exempt under Section 15-217(b) if they first give the police department proof of tax-exempt status, and representatives a resident has invited in advance fall outside the scheme as well.