Turlock, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit issuer
- Chief of Police
- Background check
- CA DOJ fingerprints required
- Bond required
- $1,000
- Permit term
- up to 1 year
- Adopted
- Ord. 1332-CS, Aug. 2025
Summary
Anyone going door-to-door in Turlock to sell goods, take orders, or solicit, peddlers, canvassers, and solicitors alike, needs an itinerant vendor permit from the Chief of Police under Municipal Code § 5-17-03.
No person shall engage in any business whether individually or as the employee or agent of another person, firm, company, corporation, association, organization, or partnership as an itinerant vendor without first complying with all applicable requirements of Chapter 9-2 TMC (Zoning Regulations) and having obtained a permit from the Chief of Police.
(b) Exemptions: The following are expressly exempt from the provisions of this chapter:
(1) Qualified participants in a farmer's market registered with the sponsoring organization approved from time to time by the City Council of the City of Turlock;
(2) Merchants having an established place of business in the City of Turlock, or to their employees or agents;
(3) Wholesalers or their representatives, employees or agents, calling upon retail business.
(c) Non-profit organizations as recognized by the State of California are not required to obtain an itinerant vendor permit but shall register their itinerant vendor activity with the City of Turlock Police Department pursuant to TMC § 5-17-17. (Ord. 1332-CS, 8/21/2025)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4937289; v6 updated 2026-06-25).
Full Breakdown
Turlock's 2025 itinerant vendor ordinance (TMC Ch. 5-17) requires anyone selling or taking orders door-to-door without a fixed place of business to obtain a Chief of Police permit before operating. Applicants submit fingerprints for a California DOJ background check, post a $1,000 bond, and must comply with Chapter 9-2 zoning rules. Permittees must display their permit on request and stop soliciting anyone who has already refused, in person or by a posted sign. Farmers'-market vendors, established merchants, and wholesalers calling on retailers are exempt.
Violations & Fines
Soliciting without a permit, or breaching a condition such as ignoring a 'no soliciting' sign or threatening a resident, can bring denial, suspension, or revocation by the Chief of Police.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do door-to-door solicitors need a permit in Turlock?
Can I tell a solicitor to leave my property in Turlock?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Turlock
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Solicitor Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle solicitor permits.