Reading, PA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Section 410-203 requires every person — whether acting individually, as a principal, or as an agent or employee of another — to apply for and obtain a permit before engaging in solicitation or canvassing of residences in the city. Applications must be submitted to the Chief of Police or designee at least 10 business days but no more than 60 calendar days before the planned activity, and a written decision is due within three business days. Permitted hours are 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Sunday through Saturday. The signed permit must be kept on-site by the lead organizer and displayed on request of any resident or law enforcement officer. The ordinance is enforced by Reading Police under § 410-206 with summary fines. The framework must comply with First Amendment limits set in Watchtower Bible & Tract Society v. Village of Stratton, 536 U.S. 150 (2002), which struck a flat permit requirement covering pure noncommercial religious or political canvassing. Reading's ordinance is structured as a commercial-solicitation regime with content-neutral time, place, and manner limits; charitable and religious canvassers should review whether the City's interpretation of Chapter 410 extends to them, and case-by-case First Amendment defenses remain available. The fee for the permit is set under the City's general fee schedule (Chapter 212 fees), and the Chief of Police may refuse a permit for grounds such as prior fraud-related convictions, consistent with the public-safety justifications upheld in Hynes v. Mayor of Oradell, 425 U.S. 610 (1976).