Downey, California: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — a permit from the Chief of Police, per rep, before entering any premises or knocking on any door to sell or take orders (6500). A business license for canvassing and soliciting sits on top of it, and the license is not issued until the police permit is (6236; 6401). Licensed insurance agents and real estate brokers and sales agents are carved out of the permit rule (6500).
• Where it comes from: The permit application is filed with the Chief of Police, signed and verified, with the fees (6402). The license comes from the city's Tax Collector. A company can take a principal solicitors' license by filing a list of all its solicitors with the Tax Collector, but each individual solicitor still needs the police permit (6236.1).
• Fee: License: the code sets $25 for each quarter for each person canvassing or soliciting house to house, and says the fee is automatically adjusted on October 1 of each year by the change in the regional Consumer Price Index, so the printed figure is a base amount and the amount due today is not in the code (6236). A principal solicitors' license that covers the company's solicitors is printed at $150 per year, no proration, indexed the same way (6236.1). Police permit: the fee is set by City Council resolution and goes in with the application (6407); the resolution was not found.
• Hours you may knock: Between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The section allows nothing on Sunday (6501).
• What the rep carries: The permit, carried at all times while working and shown on request (6405). On request the rep must also show company identification with his or her name and the company's name and address, and must give his or her name, the company and the product line at the outset (6504(b), (c)).
• What takes the time: The police investigation. The application takes fingerprints and thumbprints, a personal description and evidence of identity, and the Chief of Police investigates "within a reasonable time" to decide whether the applicant is of good moral character (6402; 6403). The code gives no number of days. The permit runs as long as the business license does (6406).
• Code: Downey Municipal Code Chapter 5, Part 1, Peddlers and Solicitors (6500 to 6504); Chapter 4, Permit Procedure (6400 to 6408); Chapter 2, Business Licenses (6236; 6236.1).
• Worth knowing: A "No Solicitors" sign, or anything similar, at or near the main entry closes that door (6502). Every home solicitation sale carries a right to cancel, refuse delivery or return the goods within a reasonable time not to exceed 20 days after delivery, the right must be printed on the sales ticket or the package, and the code says compliance is demonstrated when the permit is issued (6503). Failing to leave at once when asked is unlawful (6504(i)).
• Read it yourself: Downey Municipal Code, Part 1: Peddlers and Solicitors (6500-6504) · Downey Municipal Code, Chapter 4: Permit Procedure (6400-6408) · Downey Municipal Code, Chapter 2: Business Licenses (6236, 6236.1) · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• The solicitor license fee per person per quarter after this year's CPI adjustment
• The police permit fee set by council resolution, and the renewal fee
• How long the Chief of Police investigation is running
• Whether a principal solicitors' license is open to a company with no Downey office

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________