West Des Moines, IA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Section 3-7-3 of the "Solicitors And Mobile Food Units" chapter requires anyone who fits the Code's definition of a "solicitor," meaning a person who initiates contact at or near residences or businesses to sell goods, services, subscriptions, or merchandise, to obtain a City license before doing business, with a separate license fee the City Council sets by resolution on top of a nonrefundable application fee. Applicants must disclose their last three places of business, list misdemeanor convictions from the past ten years and any felony convictions from their lifetime, and, if they live in Iowa, submit a state Division of Criminal Investigation background check dated within 30 days of applying; the City's own police department fingerprints and photographs every applicant.

Before issuing the license, the city clerk must find the applicant has not been convicted of sexual abuse, a sex-offender-registry offense, or serious violent or property crimes such as robbery, burglary, or identity theft. Section 3-7-3(H) requires a $1,000 personal surety bond conditioned on the solicitor following city ordinances and state law and on making good on any down payments residents pay. Section 3-7-3(J) confines all licensed and unlicensed solicitation alike to the hours between 9:00 A.M. and sunset, with no soliciting allowed on nationally recognized holidays, and separately bars anyone from standing in the travel portion of a street or highway to solicit passing pedestrians or drivers without separate city clerk approval.

Newspaper carriers, scouting and 4-H members raising funds for their own organizations, students on school-sponsored projects, and government employees and public-utility representatives acting in their official capacity are exempt from the licensing requirement, though they still must honor "no soliciting" postings and the other unlawful-acts provisions.