Hayward, California: door-to-door solicitor permit

Partly read: the permit answer is sourced, but the fee or the hours could not be read from the city’s own pages. The clerk questions below cover the gap.

• The answer: Yes — a business license, specifically for "canvassing and soliciting," is required per person. "It shall be unlawful for any person... to commence or carry on any trade, calling, profession or occupation... without first having procured a license" (8-1.00), and the code has a dedicated Canvassing and Soliciting category (8-1.50).
• Where it comes from: The Tax and License Administrator, City of Hayward (8-1.20).
• Fee: $33.35 per person, per quarter — "Every person conducting, managing or carrying on the business of CANVASSING or SOLICITING for the purpose of soliciting, canvassing or taking orders from house to house... shall pay a quarterly license fee of thirty-three dollars and thirty-five cents ($33.35) per person." (8-1.50). Where payment or a deposit is collected in advance of final delivery, the canvasser must also post a $670 bond or cash deposit with the Tax and License Administrator (8-1.51).
• Hours you may knock: Not published. No permitted-hours or curfew provision for canvassing/soliciting was found in Hayward Municipal Code Chapter 8, Article 1.
• What the rep carries: Not published in the sections read.
• What takes the time: The bond required under 8-1.51 (when advance payment is collected) must be approved as to form by the City Attorney before the license is issued. No fingerprinting or background-check requirement was found in the sections read.
• Code: Hayward Municipal Code Chapter 8, Article 1 — Business Licenses, §§ 8-1.00, 8-1.50 (Canvassing and Soliciting), 8-1.51 (license bond).
• Worth knowing: The canvassing/soliciting license does not apply to "any authorized agent, or representative of a regularly established business in the City" (8-1.50) — worth asking the clerk whether an established local Hayward office would change what a rep owes.
• Read it yourself: Hayward Municipal Code 8-1.00 Business License Required · Hayward Municipal Code 8-1.50 Canvassing and Soliciting · Hayward Municipal Code 8-1.51 Canvassing and Soliciting License Bond · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Are there city-set knocking hours or a curfew for door-to-door canvassing/soliciting? Is a badge or photo ID required to be worn or carried while soliciting? Does the $670 license bond under 8-1.51 apply to a fiber/internet sales rep who does not collect payment at the door? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________