Fort Lauderdale, Florida: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes. A "solicitor, vendor, itinerant merchant or transient vendor" permit from the city, before anyone goes house to house selling goods, wares, merchandise or services (23-1, 23-41). The code defines that term broadly enough to cover a commercial door-to-door sales rep.
• Where it comes from: Fort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances, Chapter 23, Article II, Commercial Solicitors and Peddlers. The application goes to the license division / chief license inspector (23-41, 23-42).
• Fee: "Every application for a permit required by this division shall be accompanied by a registration fee of five dollars ($5.00)" (23-43). The code does not say whether this is per rep or per company; the application itself is filed per person or per organization sponsoring the activity (23-42).
• Hours you may knock: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. each day is defined in the code as "a reasonable time for uninvited solicitation" (23-26(a)). A posted sign forbidding solicitors, or a verbal refusal, ends the right to be there even inside those hours.
• What the rep carries: The code does not require a badge or ID card for a commercial solicitor's permit under Article II. (A separate, unrelated permit for street artists and performers under Article VI does require a visibly displayed permit, but that does not apply to door-to-door sales.)
• What takes the time: The sworn application must give the names, addresses and phone numbers of the sponsoring person/organization and everyone who will be soliciting, the dates and hours of the activity, and a sworn statement of no conviction for a crime of moral turpitude or fraud in the prior two years (23-42). The license inspector has ten working days to issue or deny after a complete application (23-44).
• Code: Fort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances 23-1, 23-26, 23-27, 23-41 to 23-45. Read via Municode Library.
• Worth knowing: A permit expires at the end of the solicitation period stated on the application or one year from issuance, whichever comes first, and is nontransferable — it can't be reused by a different rep or handed off between companies (23-44, 23-45). Entering a place of business without invitation, or refusing to leave a residence or business when asked, is a separate violation (23-27, 23-26(b)).
• Read it yourself: Fort Lauderdale Code of Ordinances, Chapter 23 · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Is the $5 registration fee charged once per company, or per individual rep who will be knocking? Does the license division require anything beyond the sworn application — a background check, fingerprinting, or ID — that section 23-42 doesn't spell out? Is there a separate city Business Tax Receipt required in addition to the Chapter 23 solicitor permit? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________