Knoxville, Tennessee: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: No stand-alone permit. The city code has a whole division devoted to exactly this — "Regulation of Solicitation Other Than Charitable, Patriotic, Philanthropic or Eleemosynary" — and defines solicitation to include "seeking to obtain orders for the purchase of goods, wares, merchandise or services" door to door (§ 16-441). That division sets conduct rules — hours, posted-sign limits, no fraud — but does not require a permit, registration or license before a rep knocks (§§ 16-441–16-446).
• Where it comes from: No issuing office, because no permit is required for this activity. (The city's charitable-solicitation division, a separate part of the same chapter, does route through the police chief and Tennessee's charity registration — that division does not apply to commercial sales.)
• Fee: None. The division that regulates commercial door-to-door solicitation (§§ 16-441–16-446) sets no permit and so sets no fee for it.
• Hours you may knock: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time “of any weekday” — and no solicitation at any time on a Sunday or on a state or national holiday (§ 16-446). The section does not mention Saturday by name.
• What the rep carries: Not specified. This division sets no badge, ID, or permit-display requirement for commercial solicitors.
• What takes the time: Nothing — there is no application, background check, or processing step, because no permit is required.
• Code: Knoxville City Code, Chapter 16 (Licenses and Miscellaneous Business Regulations), Article XI (Solicitations), Division 3, §§ 16-441 through 16-446; Chapter 7 (Cable Television) § 7-12(g); hosted on Municode Library.
• Worth knowing: A resident can bar solicitors outright by posting a "No Solicitors" sign at least 3 by 4 inches at the main entrance, and entering after seeing one is unlawful (§ 16-444). A rep must also leave any premises immediately if the owner or occupant asks (§ 16-443), and may not use any plan or statement that disguises the visit as something other than a sales call, or misrepresent the goods, services, or the buyer's cancellation rights (§ 16-445). The division exempts anyone visiting on a previous appointment or invitation from its solicitation definition entirely (§ 16-441). Separately, Knoxville's Vendor Licensing page states that all occupations and businesses conducted within city limits must be properly licensed and the license publicly displayed (City Code § 16-1 et seq.) — worth checking with the clerk if the company itself needs a general business license, even though door-to-door solicitation has no permit of its own. Cable TV exception: where a cable television franchisee uses salesmen to solicit subscribers door to door, the cable chapter requires each salesman to wear a city-issued identification badge on outside clothing and the franchisee to register the salesmen with the director of public safety (§ 7-12(g)). That rule is written for cable franchisees only; ask whether the city applies it to your provider.
• Read it yourself: Knoxville City Code, Article XI, Division 3 (§§ 16-441–16-446) · City of Knoxville, Vendor Licensing Requirements (PDF) · Knoxville City Code § 7-12, Cable Television, Miscellaneous provisions · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Whether the badge and public-safety registration in City Code § 7-12(g) (cable franchise door-to-door salesmen) applies to reps selling for our provider, and who issues the badge; Whether a general City of Knoxville business license (City Code § 16-1 et seq.) is expected for an out-of-town company before its reps start knocking; Whether Knox County's separate peddler/solicitor license (outside city limits) would apply to any addresses just outside the city line; Whether the police department wants any advance notice of a door-to-door sales campaign even though no permit is required. Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________