Rochester Hills, MI Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Chapter 78, article III defines 'itinerant merchant' to include anyone traveling house to house or street to street selling goods, taking orders, or soliciting, expressly covering the terms 'peddler,' 'hawker,' 'huckster,' and 'canvasser' (section 78-131). Section 78-132 states the licensing scheme exists 'to prevent fraud, crime, undue annoyance and harassment.' Before selling, an applicant must file a section 78-162 application with the city clerk disclosing a physical description, a driver's license number, the parent organization's identity, the sales method, the dates and hours of solicitation, and a two-by-two-inch photo, plus any felony or moral-turpitude conviction.

Under section 78-163, the clerk issues the license only after confirming there is no reasonable belief the activity will become a nuisance, the applicant has no disqualifying conviction, the applicable fee under section 78-164 has been paid ($75.00 per individual, per section 54-501), and an ICHAT criminal background check has cleared. Farmers selling their own produce and newspaper carriers are exempt from licensing under section 78-133, and nonprofit, charitable, political, and religious solicitors are exempt from this article entirely. A license issued under section 78-166 lasts only 90 days before the merchant must reapply, is nontransferable under section 78-167, and must be displayed on a lanyard at all times under section 78-199. If the clerk denies a license, section 78-169 allows the applicant to appeal in writing to the city council for a final determination.