Bridgeport, Connecticut: door-to-door solicitor permit

Not readable yet: the city’s rules could not be read from a primary source on the date shown. Use the call sheet.

• The answer: Not published. Bridgeport’s code has no peddler, solicitor or canvasser chapter for selling at homes. The closest thing is the police vendor’s license in Chapter 5.48, and it is written for vending “in a public place” — streets, sidewalks, parks, stands, pushcarts and vehicles (5.48.010, 5.48.020). What does apply on its face: anyone who sells, or offers to sell, goods or services on a street, sidewalk or other public place needs that police license, and the chapter's words stop at the public way — "vend" is defined as selling "in a public place" (5.48.010). Whether the Police Permits office applies it to a rep walking door to door is not stated anywhere the city publishes. Call before you knock and use the City Clerk Call Sheet.
• Where it comes from: The Police Department’s Permits and Licensing Division, 300 Congress Street, issues vendor permits. Its permits page lists the permits it handles; none is a solicitor, peddler or canvasser permit.
• Fee: Not published for door-to-door sales. The only fees in Chapter 5.48 are for the public-place vendor’s license (5.48.070).
• Hours you may knock: Not published. The code sets no knocking hours. The only hours rule found is for public-place vending in Chapter 5.48.
• Code: Bridgeport Code of Ordinances, Title 5, Business Licenses and Regulations, and Title 9, Public Peace and Welfare, read in full on Municode: no door-to-door sales chapter. Chapter 5.48, Street Vendors, Itinerant Vendors and Motor Vehicle Vendors, is the nearest. Also checked: the chapter lists of Title 8 and Title 12, Chapter 5.04 (Business Licenses Generally) and the section list of Chapter 12.16 (Street and Sidewalk Use Regulations).
• Worth knowing: Chapter 5.48 says an itinerant vendor must hold a valid state itinerant vendor license under Connecticut General Statutes Section 21-28 before the city will license one (5.48.020(E)). The chapter defines an itinerant vendor as a temporary or transient business that hires or occupies a tent, booth or other structure, which is not a door-to-door rep.
• Read it yourself: Bridgeport Code Chapter 5.48, Street Vendors, Itinerant Vendors and Motor Vehicle Vendors · Bridgeport Code Title 5, Business Licenses and Regulations · Bridgeport Code Title 9, Public Peace and Welfare · Bridgeport Police Department, Permits · Bridgeport Code Title 12, Chapter 12.16, Street and Sidewalk Use Regulations (section list checked) · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Does the Police Permits and Licensing Division require a vendor’s license or any other permit for for-profit door-to-door sales at homes? If so, the fee and whether each rep needs their own; What hours door-to-door sales are allowed; Whether the city enforces any No Soliciting sign rule. Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________