Boulder, Colorado: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — an itinerant merchant license, and Boulder's chapter is written for exactly this work. No person shall sell merchandise or services, or solicit orders for the sale and future delivery of merchandise or services, on a door-to-door basis in the city without first obtaining a license from the city manager (4-10-3(a)). The company applies, and the city issues a license to the applicant and to each salesperson or solicitor named in the application (4-10-6(a)) — so it is one application covering a named crew, with a license in every rep's hand.
• Where it comes from: The city manager, through the Regulatory Licensing Division. Applications and payment go through the City of Boulder Customer Self-Service Portal. The application names every partner, officer, director and shareholder over ten percent, plus all solicitors and sales personnel, the goods or services sold, and the supplier (4-10-4(a)).
• Fee: Three charges at application, per 4-20-10: an application fee of $50, a license fee of $51 per 12-month period, and a $10 per person fee submitted for background check review. Application fees are non-refundable; license fees are refunded if an application is denied or withdrawn. The city's own licensing page quotes the background check at $7 per person, added by Licensing Staff after the application is submitted — it and the code disagree, so ask before you budget. On top of the license, the city page requires a city business license and a sales tax deposit in the amount of $500, by business check only. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit pays no license fee (4-10-4(b)).
• Hours you may knock: Boulder publishes none. Chapter 4-10 names no start or finish time, and Title 5 (General Offenses) has no knocking-hours section and no "No Soliciting" sign offense — its Miscellaneous Offenses and Offenses Against Property chapters do not mention solicitation at all. Ask the clerk before assuming a window.
• What the rep carries: The license issued in that rep's own name. It states the type of sale or solicitation, the individual solicitor's or salesperson's name, the expiration date, and — in the city's own wording — that the person is licensed by the city to solicit orders or sell goods but that the city does not endorse the activity or goods sold in any way (4-10-6(a)). Each licensee displays it at all times while selling or soliciting in the city (4-10-6(b)).
• What takes the time: Background checks and the filing deadline. The city page says the completed application and all applicable fees must be received at least two weeks prior to beginning sales, and that a late fee of $200.00 is charged for applications submitted after the deadline. Background checks are completed on all employees who will go door to door, so every name on the roster has to be final two weeks out. Getting the $500 sales tax deposit cut as a business check is the other lead time.
• Code: Boulder Revised Code 1981, Title 4, Chapter 10 (Itinerant Merchant License), 4-10-1 to 4-10-8, with the fee at 4-20-10. Municode shows the Charter and Revised Code at Supplement 167, Update 3, containing all ordinances effective July 30, 2026.
• Worth knowing: The prepayment ban is the trap. No person other than a 501(c)(3) nonprofit may go to a private residence to sell, or take orders for future delivery, when that person requires a prepayment from the purchaser, unless the owner or occupant invited them (4-10-2). A door pitch that collects money up front for service delivered later is prohibited in Boulder outright, license or no license — the license only covers sales that take no prepayment. The license term is two years or a shorter term if requested (4-10-7), and the city page says licenses expire December 31 of the second year. A previously revoked or suspended itinerant merchant license is its own ground for denial (4-10-5(a)(1)).
• Read it yourself: Boulder Revised Code 1981, Title 4, Chapter 10 — Itinerant Merchant License · Boulder Revised Code 1981, 4-20-10 — Itinerant Merchant License Fee · Boulder Revised Code 1981, Title 5, Chapter 6 — Miscellaneous Offenses · Boulder Charter and Revised Code, title page · City of Boulder — Itinerant Merchant (Door to Door Sales) License · checked 20 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• Whether the background check is $10 per person as the code says or $7 per person as the licensing page says
• Whether adding a rep mid-term means a new application or just a roster update
• Whether the $500 sales tax deposit is refundable and when it comes back

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________