Fayetteville, North Carolina: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — a solicitor permit, per rep. It is unlawful to go uninvited to a private residence as a solicitor or peddler to solicit orders without first getting a permit from the city (15-16(d)). When an employer files, there is a separate sworn application for each solicitor. The code defines a solicitor as someone selling subscriptions or "goods or wares on behalf of a third party"; whether a service sold at the door falls inside that wording is a question for the collections office.
• Where it comes from: The collections division of the Finance Department, 433 Hay Street, takes the Application for Solicitor/Peddler/Seasonal Merchant. The police department runs the criminal background check and the chief of police or his designee approves or denies (15-16(e), (g)).
• Fee: $25.00 application fee for a Solicitor Permit, alarm solicitors included, and $5.00 for a three-month renewal made before expiration, per the city's FY26 fee schedule. The permit itself lasts three months (15-16(i)).
• Hours you may knock: No soliciting after 9:00 p.m. or before 9:00 a.m., unless arranged beforehand with the consent of the owner, lessee or manager of the property (15-16(n)).
• What the rep carries: The permit, carried at all times while soliciting and shown to any citizen or police officer who asks (15-16(k)).
• What takes the time: A criminal history background check on every applicant, a fingerprint card, and 2½-inch by 2½-inch photographs made within one year. An application missing any required item is denied on the spot (15-16(e), (g)). No processing time is published. Alarm solicitors also show a North Carolina Alarm System Licensing Board license, registration card or pending registration paperwork (15-16(f)).
• Code: City of Fayetteville Code of Ordinances, Chapter 15 Licenses, Sec. 15-16, Soliciting in Private Residences and on Streets and Sidewalks, last amended by Ord. No. S2023-003 (03/13/2023). The code is hosted on enCodePlus.
• Worth knowing: A permit does not let a rep onto a property where the owner, resident or tenant has posted a reasonably discoverable notice that solicitors are not permitted (15-16(l)). A conviction for a felony, trespassing, damage to property, larceny, perjury, assault or a crime of moral turpitude within the last five years means the permit is denied (15-16(g)).
• Read it yourself: Fayetteville Code Sec. 15-16 · City of Fayetteville Fee Schedule (FY26) · City of Fayetteville, Application for Solicitor/Peddler/Seasonal Merchant · checked 18 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Does a rep selling a service at the door, such as internet or pest control, need the solicitor permit? How long does the police background check take? Is the fee still $25.00 under the fiscal year 2027 fee schedule? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________