Santa Fe, NM Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Santa Fe's Solicitation Ordinance, adopted by Ordinance No. 2010-23, requires anyone engaged in door-to-door commercial solicitation, defined as going onto private property to request money, take orders, sell goods, or convey commercial information, to hold a valid city-issued license before doing it. Subsection 18-3.6 states plainly that solicitation without a license is unlawful, and that a license, once issued, cannot be assigned or transferred to someone else. Getting one is not a formality: Subsection 18-3.7 requires the applicant's name, permanent address, date of birth, social security number, a photograph, ten years of employment history, disclosure of any criminal convictions or pending cases, and a notarized signature consenting to a criminal background check, filed with the city's accounts receivable office at least 15 calendar days before the person intends to solicit.

The chief of police then runs that background check under Subsection 18-3.8, and the city must deny a license to anyone with a felony conviction or a serious misdemeanor such as a violent crime, sexual assault, drug possession, theft, fraud, or burglary. Licenses last up to one year and can be renewed, but Subsection 18-3.9 lets the city refuse renewal, or revoke a license outright, for false statements on the application, noncompliance with license conditions, a conviction while operating under the license, or conduct detrimental to public health, safety, peace, or welfare, and a revoked solicitor cannot reapply for a full year.

Charitable, religious, and political solicitation is exempt from the licensing requirement itself under Subsection 18-3.5, though those solicitors still must follow the ordinance's operating rules on abusive conduct and knocking hours.