Alameda, California: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — a city business license under the peddler and solicitor rate. A solicitor is anyone going house to house selling or taking orders for goods or for services to be performed in the future (5-1). The fee is charged for each person employed in the business, and each must wear an identification tag from the Bureau of Licenses (5-4.1(p)). The separate solicitation permit in 5-20 covers charitable solicitation only.
• Where it comes from: The City Bureau of Licenses (5-3.1). The city's business license page sends applications and renewals to its vendor HdL, (510) 250-1889.
• Fee: A quarterly license fee of sixty ($60.00) dollars for each person employed in the business (5-4.1(p)). The city's 2026-27 fee schedule lists Peddler & Solicitor at $60.00/quarter per employee, plus a Mandatory State Fee of $4.00 and a City Processing Fee of $28.00 (Standard). All licenses on that schedule expire June 30, 2027.
• Hours you may knock: The code sets no knocking hours.
• What the rep carries: An identification card from the Bureau of Licenses for each employee peddling or soliciting, carried at all times and shown on demand (5-3.2); the rate itself requires wearing the identification tag (5-4.1(p)). A licensee without a fixed place of business carries the license and shows it to Bureau staff or any police officer on request (5-3.9).
• What takes the time: The code sets no background check or waiting period for a licensed commercial solicitor. No processing time is published.
• Code: Alameda Municipal Code, Chapter V, Article I — Procedures for Licenses (5-1 to 5-7, rate in 5-4.1(p)). Municode shows the code codified through Ordinance No. 3398 N.S., passed April 21, 2026 (Supp. No. 74).
• Worth knowing: Soliciting sales of goods for later delivery on any public street, sidewalk, park or public place, or in a doorway abutting one, is unlawful (4-27). Reps who claim an interstate-commerce exemption from the license may not sell house to house until ten calendar days after registering (5-5.5).
• Read it yourself: Alameda Municipal Code, Chapter V, Article I — Procedures for Licenses · Alameda Municipal Code, Chapter IV, Article IV — Regulations Concerning Public Property (4-27) · Alameda Municipal Code, Chapter V, Article II — Permits (5-20 charitable solicitation) · City of Alameda — Business License · City of Alameda — 2026-27 Business License Fee Schedule (PDF) · Alameda Code of Ordinances — landing page · checked 22 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• Whether independent-contractor reps are each counted as a person employed under the peddler and solicitor rate
• Whether the City Processing Fee is charged once per company or once per rep
• How long the Bureau of Licenses takes to issue the license and ID tags

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________