Whittier, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Whittier Municipal Code § 5.04.120(29)(g)-(i)
- Solicitor tax
- $100/month, $40/week, or $15/day
- Background check
- Fingerprints + 2 passport photos required
- Exempt activity
- Door-to-door handbill distribution needs no permit
- Enforcing agency
- Whittier Police Department (fingerprinting)
Summary
Whittier requires anyone canvassing door-to-door for opinions, endorsements, or contributions without a fixed place of business to hold a solicitor's license under Municipal Code Section 5.04.120(29)(g)-(h), taxed at one hundred dollars a month, and to be fingerprinted and photographed by police before the license issues.
g.Solicitor Defined. For the purpose of this chapter, a "solicitor" is defined to be any person not having a fixed place of business in the city who engages in the act of soliciting or canvassing opinions, preferences, endorsements and/or contributions from persons within the city from residence to residence, store to store, or from a stand or parcel of land adjoining any public property.h.Solicitor Tax. A solicitor engaged in business in the manner prescribed above not otherwise provided for in this chapter, shall pay a license tax of one hundred dollars per month, forty dollars per week, or fifteen dollars per day. Issuance of the license is subject to Chapter 5.16 of this code which limits an individual's ability to engage in business during special events. i.Fingerprinting.(ii)Any person, resident or nonresident of the city who engages in the act of peddling as defined in Section 5.04.120(B)(29)(a), vending as defined in Section 5.04.120(B)(29)(c), or soliciting as defined in Section 5.04.120(B)(29)(g) must be fingerprinted and provide two passport photographs before a license may be issued.
Full Breakdown
120, subdivision 29(g) of the Whittier Municipal Code defines a "solicitor" as any person without a fixed place of business in the city who solicits or canvasses opinions, preferences, endorsements, or contributions from residence to residence, store to store, or from a stand adjoining public property. 16, the special-events chapter, which can limit an individual's ability to solicit while a special event permit is in effect nearby. Before a license issues, subdivision (i)(ii) requires anyone soliciting as defined in subdivision 29(g), and likewise anyone peddling under 29(a) or vending under 29(c), to be fingerprinted and to provide two passport photographs; the applicant pays a fee to cover the processing cost, and the department of justice must return a fingerprint report to the city treasurer before the license may issue.
Once issued, an identification badge is provided that expires with the underlying license. Subdivision (i)(iii) carves out one activity from these requirements: distributing handbills door-to-door does not require fingerprinting, a badge, or a permit. A solicitor claiming exemption from the tax, for instance for nonprofit status or interstate commerce, must apply to the city treasurer under subdivision (j) and furnish conclusive proof supporting the claimed exemption, but must still complete the fingerprinting requirement first.
Violations & Fines
Soliciting without the license and fingerprint clearance required by Section 5.04.120(29)(g)-(i) is unlicensed business activity under Section 5.04.180, a distinct offense for each day it continues. Section 1.08.015 sets the infraction penalty at twenty-five dollars for a first violation, fifty dollars for a second within one year, and one hundred dollars for each additional violation within that year, with prosecution as a misdemeanor also available under Section 5.04.170.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Whittier require a permit to go door-to-door soliciting?
Do solicitors have to be fingerprinted in Whittier?
Do I need a permit to hand out flyers door-to-door?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Whittier
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