Ann Arbor, Michigan: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes. The city defines SOLICITOR as anyone traveling place to place "seeking to obtain orders for the purchase of goods or services for future delivery or performance" — the exact activity of a door-to-door sales rep taking an order — and it is unlawful to solicit within city limits without first getting a license (§ 7:61, § 7:62). The application asks for each individual applicant's own name, age, physical description, and photo, making the license per person.
• Where it comes from: Applications go through the city's online STREAM portal (formerly the Building Department in person); the City Administrator or a designee issues the license once the application, insurance proof, and fee are all in (§ 7:64).
• Fee: $45.00 per licensure period (6 months), not prorated, per the city's own solicitors-and-peddlers page. A 75% reduction applies only if the applicant is under 14 and expects less than $100 profit — not applicable to an adult sales rep (§ 7:67).
• Hours you may knock: 10:00 a.m. to official sunset. Soliciting or peddling at a private residence is barred before 10:00 a.m., after sunset, and at any time on a Sunday or a state or national holiday (§ 7:66(5)).
• What the rep carries: The license, displayed prominently so it is visible to the public while working (§ 7:65).
• What takes the time: A 2x2 inch photo taken within the past 60 days, driver's license or social security number, and proof of liability insurance ($500,000 per-person injury/death, 50,000 property damage, naming the City of Ann Arbor as an insured party) all go with the application. Applications need a minimum of 24 hours to process, and the code separately requires the application be filed at least 72 hours before a license can issue (§ 7:63, § 7:68). Applications can be submitted no more than 30 days ahead of the desired 6-month period.
• Code: Ann Arbor City Code, Chapter 79 (Solicitors and Peddlers), §§ 7:61 through 7:74, hosted on Municode Library.
• Worth knowing: A rep can't enter a residence "under pretenses other than for soliciting or peddling," must leave the moment an owner or occupant asks, and can't approach any property posted "no soliciting" or "no peddling" (§ 7:66(1)–(3)). "Travel from place to place" has its own legal meaning — moving to a new street address and not returning to the same address within 2 hours (§ 7:62(3)) — and a rep can't linger at one spot more than 5 minutes in a 2-hour window without a separate street use permit (§ 7:66(7)). Soliciting is also barred on streets closed for an art fair or special event by Council resolution — the city specifically calls out Saturdays during University of Michigan football games and the July Ann Arbor Art Fair. City Council can also declare certain dates or areas off-limits for congestion, in which case licenses carry a printed notice of the restriction (§ 7:73).
• Read it yourself: Ann Arbor City Code, Chapter 79: Solicitors and Peddlers · City of Ann Arbor, Solicitors and Peddlers · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Whether a 6-month license (May 1–Oct 31 or Nov 1–Apr 30) can be timed to cover a specific blitz window, since the fee is not prorated; What the current U of M football Saturday and Art Fair no-soliciting map covers, so routes can avoid those zones and dates; Whether the city's standard liability insurance certificate requirement can be met with the company's existing general liability policy. Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________