Boston, Massachusetts: door-to-door solicitor permit

Partly read: the permit answer is sourced, but the fee or the hours could not be read from the city’s own pages. The clerk questions below cover the gap.

• The answer: No city permit for door-to-door sales reps was found. Boston's code was read on its own host: Chapter XVI (Prohibitions, Penalties and Permits) and Chapter XVII (Licenses and Regulations Affecting Certain Trades) have no solicitor, canvasser or door-to-door chapter. What the code does have: hawker and peddler registration for fruits, vegetables and goods named in state law (16-2.1), and a City Clerk license for transient vendors selling stock from a place of business (17-14.1). The state hawker and peddler law those sections point to (M.G.L. Chapter 101) could not be opened. Confirm before you knock with the City Clerk Call Sheet.
• Where it comes from: Nothing in the code names an office for door-to-door sales. The City Clerk licenses transient vendors (17-14.1); the Inspectional Services Department registers hawkers and peddlers of goods (16-2.1).
• Fee: The code sets no fee for door-to-door sales because it has no such license.
• Hours you may knock: The code sets no knocking hours.
• Code: City of Boston Code of Ordinances, current through Ordinance 2025 C. 14, passed 11-5-2025. Read: 16-2 Hawkers and Peddlers, 16-41 Regulating Manner and Place of Solicitation, 17-14 Transient Vendors.
• Worth knowing: 16-41 is not a door-to-door rule. It defines "solicit" as asking for an immediate donation and bans doing it aggressively or near ATMs, bus stops and crosswalks (16-41.1, 16-41.2). A licensed transient vendor posts a $500 bond with the city (17-14.2).
• Read it yourself: City of Boston Code of Ordinances (American Legal) · Boston Code Chapter XVI table of contents · Boston Code Chapter XVII table of contents · Boston Code 16-2 Hawkers and Peddlers · Boston Code 17-14 Transient Vendors · Boston Code 16-41 Regulating Manner and Place of Solicitation · Boston.gov, How to Get a Hawker and Peddler License · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Does Boston require any permit or registration for commercial door-to-door sales? Does the state hawker and peddler license (M.G.L. Chapter 101) apply to reps who take orders at the door? Are there hours the city enforces for knocking on residential doors? Does the city keep a do-not-knock list or enforce No Soliciting signs? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________