Lorain, Ohio: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — a registration certificate for each solicitor calling at residences uninvited, including anyone seeking orders for goods or services of any kind (743.01, 743.03). The organization obtains it to cover each individual solicitor (743.03).
• Where it comes from: Application to the Chief of Police or designee (743.04(a)). The city's application form carries an approval line for the Mayor and is on the Safety / Service Department forms page.
• Fee: $10.00 for each registration certificate application, and each solicitor over 18 reimburses the Police Department for the cost of a criminal background check; the background check cost is not published (743.05).
• Hours you may knock: No soliciting before 9:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays (743.07).
• What the rep carries: The registration certificate — rep name, organization, purpose, issue and expiration dates — shown to any resident or police officer who asks (743.06).
• What takes the time: A criminal background check by the Police Department (743.05) and a photo about 3 inches square taken within the past year (743.04(a)(5)). A record of dishonesty, theft, falsification, menacing, coercion, sex offenses, assault, physical harm or trespassing blocks the certificate (743.06). The certificate is good for one year (743.06). No processing time is published.
• Code: Codified Ordinances of Lorain, Chapter 743 — Solicitation (743.01 to 743.99, Ord. 193-01, passed 11-5-01) and Chapter 745 — Home Solicitation Sales (Ord. 180-01). Read from the copies attached to the city's own application (Chapter 743 printed 6/5/2020); the current online code on American Legal could not be read.
• Worth knowing: A seller in a home solicitation sale of $25 or more posts a one thousand dollar ($1,000) surety bond with the Mayor's office (745.08), and the application asks for a copy of the sales contract and an Ohio Attorney General Webcheck. A "No Solicitors Invited" sign at the main entrance makes knocking a trespass (743.08, 743.09). A violation of Chapter 743 is a third-degree misdemeanor for a first offense (743.99).
• Read it yourself: City of Lorain — Application for Home Solicitation Sales, with Chapters 743 and 745 attached (PDF) · City of Lorain — Safety / Service Department Forms · Codified Ordinances of Lorain, Ohio (American Legal) · checked 23 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• What the police background check costs per rep, on top of the $10.00 fee
• Whether Chapter 743 and the $1,000 bond in 745.08 are unchanged since the copies attached to the application
• How long the background check and certificate take

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________