Sherman, TX Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Article 4.08 of the Sherman Code of Ordinances regulates peddlers, solicitors and itinerant merchants. A peddler and solicitor is anyone who goes from place to place in the city soliciting orders for, selling or offering to sell goods, wares, merchandise, services, photographs, magazines, magazine subscriptions or food products. An itinerant merchant sells at a location in the city for less than thirty (30) days. Section 4.08.041 makes it unlawful to carry on that sales activity without first obtaining a permit from the city clerk, and an agent or employee cannot sell or solicit funds unless the principal or employer holds a permit. A charitable solicitor cannot solicit for any purpose other than the one stated when the permit was issued.

The written application goes to the city clerk under oath (§ 4.08.043). It must include the business address and sales location, the person represented, an original copy of the sales tax permit issued by the state comptroller, the kind of goods, permanent residence address, any felony convictions with offense and time served, names and phone numbers of three (3) character witnesses reachable within twenty-four (24) hours, written consent from the property owner for sales on private property, and each employer, agent or representative who will sell. The processing fee is set by ordinance and is nonrefundable. The chief of police investigates and reports to the clerk by 5:00 p.m. the following business day (§ 4.08.044).

The bond must be not less than $1,000.00 with two (2) or more sureties and stays in force for the full permit term and two (2) years afterward (§ 4.08.045). The permit is valid for one hundred eighty (180) days, is renewable for a fee set by ordinance, and is not transferable (§§ 4.08.051, 4.08.047). Interstate commerce is exempt from the application fee (§ 4.08.046), and charitable, religious and nonprofit organizations register annually and pay no processing fee (§ 4.08.042). Business hours run only from 8:00 a.m. to sunset (§ 4.08.008).