Wayne, NJ Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Chapter 60, Article I, covers peddling, soliciting and canvassing in Wayne Township. Section 60-1 explains the purpose: registration lets the identity of door-to-door solicitors be established and helps prevent dishonest business practices and fraudulent solicitation of funds.

Section 60-2 requires a written permit from the Chief of Police before anyone canvasses, solicits in a public or quasi-public place, calls from house to house, sells goods by sample or takes orders for future delivery, or sells services or takes orders for services, whether or not advance payment is received. The application is filed with the Police Department Records and Investigation Bureau and must include a letter from the employer authorizing the applicant to act as a representative (§ 60-4). Fees are in Chapter 75, and the license and identification card expire December 31 of the year of issuance unless surrendered or revoked sooner (§ 60-3).

Under § 60-5, the Chief of Police grants a permit after due investigation that the applicant is selling or soliciting for a project free from fraud or other criminal purpose. The applicant and every employee, agent and subcontractor who will solicit in the Township submit to a criminal background check at their own expense, attached to the application, which is incomplete until the results for every named solicitor arrive. The Police Department then recommends whether anyone should be disqualified. Each permit states its effective period and carries the permittee's photograph. The permittee carries it, displays it on the person so the public can see it, and, to the extent possible, tells the Police Department weekly the specific locations to be canvassed, with name, permit number and organization.

Section 60-1(B) exempts, from the permit requirement only, deliveries in the regular course of business, holders of county or state business licenses who carry an employer identification badge, certain honorably discharged veterans and exempt fire company members holding a peddler's license under N.J.S.A. 45:24-9 and 45:24-10, political campaigning, and noncommercial canvassing or communication.