Porterville, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Section 8-2 defines a peddler, solicitor or canvasser broadly as anyone who goes house to house or place to place selling or taking orders for goods, wares, merchandise or services, whether or not they carry a sample or collect payment in advance. Section 8-3 makes a permit mandatory for each individual doing this work, separate from any Chapter 15 business license the employer holds; a firm's employees can share one business license but each individual peddler still needs their own permit unless the Section 8-12 nonprofit fundraising exemption applies.

The application, filed with the Finance Officer under Sections 8-4 through 8-6, must list the applicant's home and local address, employer, employment history for the past year, the goods or services offered, a physical description, and any criminal convictions. Section 8-8 requires two 2-inch photographs, and Section 8-9 sends every applicant to the Chief of Police for fingerprinting, with one print retained by the City and one forwarded to the FBI and the California Department of Justice. Section 8-10 has the Chief of Police investigate the applicant's character and business responsibility; an unsatisfactory finding gets the application denied outright.

Fees for the application, replacement card and identification card are set by resolution under Section 8-7. Section 8-14 lets the Chief of Police suspend or revoke a permit immediately, without a hearing first, for fraud, a chapter violation, a moral-turpitude conviction, or conduct that breaches the peace, with appeal running to the City Council under Section 8-15.