Sonoma, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Solicitor license fee
- $90.00 per year
- Peddler license fee
- $90.00 per year
- Fixed-business exemption
- Applies only to solicitors, not peddlers
- Annual due date
- January 1
- Violation penalty
- Misdemeanor under Ch. 1.12 SMC
- Enforcing officials
- Tax collector and chief of police
Summary
The City of Sonoma charges $90.00 per year for a license to solicit retail orders door-to-door, and the same $90.00 fee for peddlers who sell or distribute merchandise from a truck or house to house, under SMC 5.08.140 and 5.08.150. Businesses already licensed at a fixed Sonoma location are exempt from the separate solicitor fee.
For soliciting for retail orders for services, goods, wares, merchandise, property of all kinds, books, maps, pictures, photographs or enlargements of pictures or photographs, the license fee shall be the sum of $90.00 per year. It is provided further that such license fee shall not be payable by any person, firm or corporation who has a fixed place of business in Sonoma, and who is required and has paid any other license under Chapters 5.04 and 5.08 SMC, the soliciting of orders being deemed a part of the business so licensed. ... For any person peddling or going from place to place or house to house in the city and selling or distributing merchandise at retail from a truck or otherwise, the license fee shall be the sum of $90.00 per year.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 13-2025, passed December 3, 2025).
Full Breakdown
00 annual license fee for soliciting retail orders for services, goods, wares, merchandise, property, books, maps, pictures, photographs or enlargements. 08, since soliciting orders is treated as part of the already-licensed business. 00 annual fee for peddlers, defined as anyone going from place to place or house to house selling or distributing merchandise at retail from a truck or otherwise, with no exemption written into that section for a fixed local business. 200, with prorated billing available for licenses commenced after July 1. 140's parent chapter, and either may demand a licensed solicitor or peddler exhibit proof of the license on request.
Violations & Fines
Soliciting or peddling in the City of Sonoma without paying the $90.00 annual license fee, or willfully failing to exhibit the license when demanded by the tax collector, an assistant, or a police officer, is a misdemeanor under SMC 5.08.210, punishable as provided in Chapter 1.12 SMC. Unpaid license tax also draws a 10 percent per month delinquency penalty under SMC 5.04.210 and can be pursued as a civil debt to the city.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is a door-to-door solicitor license in the City of Sonoma?
Do peddlers need a separate license from solicitors in Sonoma?
Is a Sonoma business exempt from the solicitor fee if it already has a storefront?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sonoma
California rules heatmap·Compare Sonoma to another location·View the California soliciting & door-to-door overview
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Solicitor Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sonoma County handle solicitor permits.