Indio, 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. It is unlawful to engage in the business of peddler in the city without first getting a permit (117.30), and the city's own business license page puts "Peddlers / Solicitors" on the list of businesses that require a background investigation and City Council approval before a license is issued. Read the two definitions before you assume which one your team is: a peddler sells and makes immediate delivery of goods in his possession, while a solicitor takes orders for goods or services to be delivered or performed in the future (117.01). The hours section binds anyone who peddles or solicits (117.38(A)).
• Where it comes from: The Management Services Director takes the verified application, in duplicate, on the Director's form (117.32). One copy goes to the Chief of Police for a background investigation, and the Chief reports back within five days of finishing it (117.33(A)). The Director must approve the permit unless the application is incomplete, carries false information, or the police report says it should be denied (117.33(B)(1)). Refusal or summary revocation is appealable to the City Council within ten days (117.35(A)).
• Fee: Indio does not publish the peddler permit fee. The code says only that the application carries "the fee established by resolution of the City Council to cover cost of investigation" (117.32(J)), and that background investigation fees are set and adjusted by resolution (110.28(G)). The city's 2026 fee schedule, adopted for fees as of July 1, 2026, has no peddler, solicitor or door-to-door line — the only background investigation charges printed on it sit under Cannabis. The business license tax is separate and is set by gross receipts: under Classification I, which covers selling goods and providing services, the first band, 0 - $50,000, is $60.00. Call the Business License Department for the permit and background investigation figures.
• Hours you may knock: Not before 8:00 a.m. and not after 7:00 p.m., any day (117.38(A)). The section covers peddling and soliciting alike and names no days off.
• What the rep carries: The permit card, worn constantly on the front of the coat, hat or clothing so it is conspicuous the whole time the rep is peddling or soliciting (117.36(B)). The card shows the name, address and description of the permittee, the kind of business permitted, the date of issue and how long it runs (117.36(A)).
• What takes the time: This one is slow by design. Finger and thumb prints are taken by the city Police Department, and a photograph taken within the past 60 days goes in with the application, along with two years of business locations and residences, full identification of the employer or principal, prior convictions, and a statement of every license any city has refused, declined to renew or revoked (117.32). A background investigation is started within ten days of filing and must be complete within 45 days, extendable by written notice for up to 45 more (110.28(E), (F)). The city's business license page says these applications then go on a City Council agenda, and warns that the processing time is longer than normal.
• Code: Indio Code of Ordinances Chapter 117, Solicitation, Subchapter 3, Commercial (117.30 to 117.38), with definitions in Subchapter 1, § 117.01 and background investigation rules in Chapter 110, § 110.28. The sections carry their own history: 117.31 as amended by Ord. 1767, 12-15-2021; 117.32, 117.33, 117.34, 117.35 and 117.36 by Ord. 1558, 5-6-2009; 110.28 by Ord. 1558, 5-6-2009 and Ord. 1652, 4-16-2014.
• Worth knowing: A posted sign is enforceable by ordinance, not just etiquette: no ringing the bell or knocking where a visible sign reads "NO PEDDLERS PERMITTED," "NO SOLICITORS PERMITTED," "NO AGENTS PERMITTED" or anything that shows the occupant objects, and no attempt to gain admittance (117.38(B)). The permit term is whatever the Management Services Director sets and can never be longer than six months, so a year-round team re-applies at least twice a year (117.33(C)). The permit can be summarily revoked for fraud in the application, any violation of city law relating to the business, a felony or moral-turpitude misdemeanor conviction, or "any other good and sufficient reason" (117.34(B)). The chapter does not apply to a salesperson for a wholesale house selling to dealers, or to anyone for whom a license tax would be an undue burden on interstate commerce under 110.07 (117.31(D), (I)).
• Read it yourself: Indio Code of Ordinances Chapter 117, Solicitation, Subchapter 3, Commercial · Indio Code of Ordinances Chapter 117, Subchapter 1, General Provisions · Indio Code of Ordinances Chapter 110, § 110.28, Background investigations · City of Indio Business License Information · City of Indio License Tax Schedules · City of Indio Updated Fee Schedule 2026 · checked 20 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• What the peddler permit and the police background investigation cost, since neither is on the published fee schedule
• Whether a rep taking orders for future service is treated as a peddler under 117.30 or only as a solicitor
• How long the City Council approval step has been running lately, start to finish

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________