Indianapolis, Indiana: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: No door-to-door license shows up in the Revised Code. Title IV (business licenses) has no peddler or solicitor chapter, and the city's business license list has no solicitor entry. What the city does have, and what still binds every rep: a nuisance rule that says when a commercial solicitor may not be on a porch — posted notice, after being asked to leave, addresses on the city's No-Solicitation list, and after the evening cutoff (391-104) — plus handbill rules for anything left at the door (361-504, 361-505).
• Where it comes from: The Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County, Sec. 391-104, "Solicitors entering private premises." The no-knock list is run by the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services.
• Fee: None published, because there is no door-to-door license to pay for. The only nearby license, the transient merchant license, covers sales "from an outdoor sales location" such as a stand, cart or vehicle on a lot or the right-of-way (987-101), not knocking on doors.
• Hours you may knock: No start time is set. The cutoff is thirty minutes after sunset or 9:00 p.m., whichever is earlier (391-104(a)(4)).
• What the rep carries: The code names nothing a door-to-door rep must carry or wear.
• What takes the time: Nothing to apply for at the city. The real prep work is pulling the no-solicitation address list before the team goes out.
• Code: Sec. 391-104 (solicitors entering private premises); Chapter 987, Article I (transient merchant activity, outdoor sales locations only). Chapter 361, Article V (handbills). Municode shows the code as codified through Ordinance No. 42, 2026, passed June 1, 2026 (Supp. No. 47, Update 2).
• Worth knowing: Three more things make a knock a nuisance under 391-104: a posted notice at or near the entrance forbidding it, staying after being asked to leave, and any address on the city's annual No-Solicitation list. The list resets every December 31 and the city posts the current addresses. The section is about uninvited sellers of "merchandise or commercial services"; deliveries of things already ordered are carved out (391-104(b)). Flyers and door hangers: none at a home with a sign saying the occupants do not want handbills, or where anyone there asks you not to (361-504); at an unposted home, hand it over or place it so it cannot blow away, and stay out of the mailbox (361-505).
• Read it yourself: Indianapolis-Marion County Revised Code Sec. 391-104 · Revised Code Chapter 987, Article I, Transient Merchant Activity · indy.gov, Sign-up and View the No-Solicitation list · indy.gov, Business Licenses · Revised Code Chapter 361, Article V, Handbills (361-501 to 361-506) · Municode search of the Indianapolis-Marion County code (solicitor) · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Does the city require any license or registration for uninvited door-to-door sales of services, or is 391-104 the whole rule? Do the excluded cities inside Marion County (Beech Grove, Lawrence, Southport, Speedway) run their own solicitor permits? Where is the current No-Solicitation address list posted, and how often is it updated? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________