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

Section 62-2 of the Municipal Code requires every person who engages in business as a 'solicitor,' defined to include selling, soliciting orders for, demonstrating or estimating goods or services directly to the public on streets, sidewalks or other public places, or by going house to house, whether by appointment, referral, uninvited solicitation, route sales or party plan, to apply for and obtain a City license at least three days before starting operations (Section 62-2(B)). A related but separate license covers a 'commercial traveler,' someone who rents a room for under 90 days to sell goods or services to the public (Section 62-2(A)).

Every applicant and their operators must consent to a Rochester Police Department background check, and the Chief of Police may deny a license where a conviction has a direct relationship to the license or creates an unreasonable risk to public safety, applying the Correction Law Article 23-A factors, with a denied applicant entitled to a hearing (Section 62-2(E)). Applications must disclose the applicant's name and home address, the firm represented, the goods or services offered, proof of any required professional or health license, a Certificate of Authority to collect state sales tax, the intended selling location, and proof of insurance (Section 62-2(F)).

Under Section 62-3, license fees run $150 for a commercial traveler, and for a solicitor $330 for a vending truck or trailer or $250 for a vending cart outside the Center City, Marina and Harbortown Vending Districts, rising to $1,000 for a truck or trailer and $750 for a cart if the license includes any of those districts; a temporary permit for a single special event costs $56. Solicitors do not need a separate license to operate an outdoor retail display that already complies with Zoning Code Section 120-176, and the requirement does not apply to a person who instead obtains a special promotional events license.