Cleveland, Ohio: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — a street vendor's license, one per person. Cleveland's code defines street vending to include "soliciting another to purchase, for present or future delivery, any goods, wares, merchandise, subscriptions, services" done "door-to-door on residential property" (675.01(a)(2)). No person may vend anywhere in the city without the license, and a company's license does not cover its agents or employees (675.02(a)). The city's own Licenses & Permits page lists no license under the name solicitor or peddler; on that page the street vendor entries are the ones that apply.
• Where it comes from: The Commissioner of Assessments and Licenses, Department of Finance, takes the application and issues the license and ID card (675.02(b), 675.03(a)).
• Fee: $60.00 a year per person, covering August 1 through July 31 (675.02(d)). A lost ID card is $10.00 to replace (675.03(c)). Separate location permits exist for vending on streets, sidewalks and private property (675.04); a mobile vending permit outside downtown is $100.00 (675.08(b)). The code does not say plainly whether a door-to-door rep needs one of those permits on top of the license.
• Hours you may knock: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The code bars vending door-to-door on residential property between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. (675.09(g)).
• What the rep carries: A laminated identification card with the rep's photograph, worn while vending, and the license itself kept on the person at all times while vending (675.03(a)).
• What takes the time: Two photographs taken within thirty days before the application, and the application form (675.02(b), (c)). The sections read name no background check, fingerprints or bond for a door-to-door vendor; the conviction rules in 675.09(n) apply only to frozen dessert vendors.
• Code: Codified Ordinances of Cleveland, current through legislation passed September 1, 2026: Chapter 675 Street Vendors — 675.01 definitions and scope, 675.02 license and fee, 675.03 ID card, 675.04 permits, 675.09(g) door-to-door hours.
• Worth knowing: Chapter 675 does not apply to "bona fide sales of goods, wares ... or merchandise by samples for future delivery" or to sales to dealers by commercial travelers (675.01(b)). Chapter 682 (Itinerant Vendors) is a separate license for selling goods from temporary quarters, not for door knocking (682.01, 682.02).
• Read it yourself: City of Cleveland, Division of Assessments & Licenses: Licenses & Permits · Cleveland City Council: Charter & Codified Ordinances (links to the code host) · Cleveland Codified Ordinances 675.01 Definitions; Chapter Scope · Cleveland Codified Ordinances 675.02 Street Vendor's License Required; Application; Fee · Cleveland Codified Ordinances 675.03 License issuance and ID card · Cleveland Codified Ordinances 675.04 Permits Required · Cleveland Codified Ordinances 675.08 Mobile vending permit outside the Central Business District · Cleveland Codified Ordinances 675.09 Regulations Governing Vendors · Cleveland Codified Ordinances 682.01 (Itinerant Vendors) · Cleveland Codified Ordinances, overview and currency statement · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Does a door-to-door rep need a permit under 675.04 in addition to the street vendor's license, and which one? Does the 675.01(b) exemption for sales by sample for future delivery cover reps who sign up customers for a service? How long does the license and ID card take to issue? Does the city keep a do-not-knock list or enforce No Soliciting signs? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________