Winter Park, FL Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Before peddling, canvassing or soliciting, § 70-36
- Application
- Sworn, photos, physician's statement, § 70-37
- Solicitation hours
- Barred before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m., § 70-8
- Appeal window
- 14 days to city commission, § 70-54
- Penalty
- Up to $500 fine, 60 days jail, § 1-7
- Exempt
- Invited guests, newspaper and dairy delivery, § 70-2
Summary
Winter Park requires anyone acting as a peddler, canvasser, hawker, itinerant merchant, vendor or solicitor to hold a city-issued permit before working door to door. City Code Chapter 70 has the city manager screen every applicant through a sworn application, photographs and a physician's health statement, and the city commission can revoke or deny a permit after a hearing.
No person shall act as a peddler, canvasser, salesman, hawker, itinerant merchant, vendor or solicitor without a permit issued by the city. ... Applicants for identification cards and permits under this article must file with the city manager a sworn written application in duplicate, on forms to be furnished by the city manager... Two photographs of the applicant, taken within 60 days immediately prior to the date of filing of the application... showing the head and shoulders of the applicant in a clear and distinguishing manner... A statement of a reputable physician dated not more than ten days prior to submission of the application, certifying the applicant to be free of contagious, infectious or communicable disease. Such a statement shall be submitted also upon the renewal of any permit under this article. ... At the time of filing the application, a fee in the amount established by the city shall be paid to the director of finance to cover the cost of investigation of the facts stated in this section.
Full Breakdown
Winter Park Code § 70-1 defines a peddler, canvasser, salesman, hawker, itinerant merchant or vendor as anyone without a permanent licensed place of business in the city who sells or offers goods, services, wares or merchandise, and a solicitor as anyone soliciting funds or services for any purpose. Section 70-36 makes a permit mandatory before acting in any of those roles. Section 70-37 sets out the sworn, duplicate application filed with the city manager: name and description, home and local address, a description of the goods or services (including acreage details for farm produce peddlers), employer credentials if applicable, the length of time requested, vehicle identification if used, two photographs taken within the prior 60 days, at least two character references, disclosure of prior criminal or ordinance convictions, and a physician's statement dated within ten days certifying the applicant is free of contagious disease, required again at every renewal.
A fee set by the city is due at filing, payable to the director of finance to cover the cost of investigating the application. Under § 70-41 the city manager must find the statements true, the applicant of good character, and, for a charitable solicitation, that it is not run primarily for private profit before issuing the permit; § 70-42 lets the manager grant a temporary interim permit pending city commission confirmation. Newspaper carriers, dairy deliveries and anyone specifically invited by the resident are exempt (§ 70-2).
unless invited, and § 70-7 makes it a nuisance to enter a home under false pretenses, refuse to leave when asked, or ignore a posted no soliciting sign. Permits can be revoked by a board of the city manager and director of finance for fraud, any chapter violation, a moral-turpitude conviction, or conduct breaching the peace (§ 70-52), after five days' mailed notice (§ 70-53); a denied or revoked applicant has 14 days to file a written appeal with the city commission, whose decision is final (§§ 70-54, 70-55).
Violations & Fines
Soliciting without a permit, or violating any part of Chapter 70, is punished under the city's general penalty, § 1-7: a fine up to $500.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each continuing day counted as a separate offense. The city can also revoke or deny the permit itself (§ 70-52), and a continuing violation may be abated as a public nuisance through injunctive relief regardless of any fine imposed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to go door-to-door selling in Winter Park?
What hours can a solicitor knock on doors in Winter Park?
Who is exempt from Winter Park's peddler and solicitor permit rule?
What happens if a permit is denied or revoked?
What is the penalty for soliciting without a Winter Park permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Winter Park
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