Buffalo, New York: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes for selling goods — a peddler license per person, plus a badge worn while working. The code bars anyone from selling goods, wares or merchandise "by going from house to house soliciting purchases or otherwise" without a license from the Commissioner of Permit and Inspection Services (316-1). The section names goods, wares and merchandise only; it says nothing about a rep who sells a service at the door and carries no goods, so put that question to the Office of Licenses. The city issues it as the Mobile Peddler License.
• Where it comes from: The Office of Licenses, Permit and Inspection Services, 301 City Hall. Its license applications page posts the Mobile Peddler application and links Chapter 316 as the code requirements.
• Fee: $75.00 per person — the "Peddler of any other product" personal license in the city's fee chapter (175-1, under 316-11), and the same figure on the city's application form. A vehicle used to peddle is a separate $63.00 license in the fee chapter; the city's form instead prints $150.00 "With Conveyance". $75.00 plus $63.00 comes to less than the form's $150.00, so the form and the code do not match on the vehicle price. The license expires April 30 (316-12).
• Hours you may knock: Not before 7:00 a.m. nor after 7:00 p.m., and not at any time on Sunday (316-8). The section is worded for peddling "on the public grounds of the City"; the city's application form states the same limits for every mobile peddler as Monday through Saturday, 7:00AM to 7:00 PM, no Sundays.
• What the rep carries: A badge furnished by the Commissioner, worn at all times when peddling, and returned when the license expires (316-3(B)). A licensed vehicle carries a metal "Licensed Peddler" plate.
• What takes the time: A police background check from Buffalo Police Headquarters, a copy of a government photo ID, a New York State tax ID certificate, and a sworn, notarized application.
• Code: City of Buffalo Code Chapter 316, Peddling and Soliciting: 316-1 license required, 316-2 application, 316-3 badges and plates, 316-6 restricted areas, 316-8 hours, 316-11 fees, 316-12 expiration. Fees are in Chapter 175 (175-1).
• Worth knowing: No licensee may peddle inside the downtown territory and the other streets listed in 316-6(A). The city's form also bars peddling in or near city parks, playgrounds, schools, city markets and commercial business districts. The fee chapter lists a $52.50 "license for house-to-house selling" against 316-19, but 316-19 itself is the license to hand out product samples on the street or from house to house, not a sales license.
• Read it yourself: City of Buffalo, Mobile Peddler License application · City of Buffalo, License Applications & Code Requirements · Buffalo Code Chapter 316, Article I General Licensing Provisions · Buffalo Code Chapter 316, Article II License Fees and Expiration · Buffalo Code Chapter 175 Fees · Buffalo Code Chapter 316, Article IV Distribution of Samples · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Does Chapter 316 require a license for a rep who takes orders for a service door to door and carries no goods? Do the 7 to 7, no-Sunday hours in 316-8 apply to knocking on doors at homes, or only to public grounds? With a vehicle, is the total the $75.00 plus $63.00 in the fee chapter, or the $150.00 on the form? How long does the police background check take? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________