Lynn, Massachusetts: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — a Door-to-Door Sales Permit. No person, "either by himself or by his employees," may go house to house taking orders for goods for future delivery or for services to be performed in the future without first obtaining written permission from the License Committee (Ordinance of April 13, 2010, Section 1:00). The business applies and lists every person who will be soliciting.
• Where it comes from: The Lynn City Clerk's office takes the application — it is in the Clerk's Forms and Documents list as "Door-to-Door Sale Permit Application" — and the form has a line for the committee approval hearing date. The Lynn Police Department runs the CORI check.
• Fee: The application's office-use block reads "Fee Paid - $1,000.00 PER SALESPERSON" plus $10.00 per each salesperson submitted for CORI check. The ordinance itself names no fee.
• Hours you may knock: The ordinance bars the activity between the hours of 5:00 P.M. and 9:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and allows none on a Sunday (Section 2:00) — so 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 P.M., Monday through Saturday. The application form in the same packet words it differently: "Hours Requested (6:00 PM-10:00 AM excluded)." The two do not match; the clerk question below covers it.
• What the rep carries: A photo identification worn on the outer clothes so that it is visible at all times (Section 3:00).
• What takes the time: A CORI criminal history check by Lynn Police on every solicitor — the business submits each person's name, address, date of birth and Social Security number plus photo identification, driver's license preferred — and then a License Committee approval hearing. No processing time is published.
• Code: City of Lynn, "An Ordinance Amending the Ordinance Requiring Door-to-Door Solicitors to Obtain a Permit from the City Council of the City of Lynn," In City Council April 13, 2010, Sections 1:00 to 6:00, attached to the City Clerk's application packet. Lynn does not post a full online code; the Clerk's site says posted ordinances are a convenience and the official version is at the City Clerk's Office.
• Worth knowing: The permit expires annually on December 31, per the application. A violation carries a fine not exceeding Two Hundred ($200.00) Dollars for each offense, and after a second violation the person is permanently prohibited from soliciting in Lynn (Section 4:00).
• Read it yourself: City of Lynn — Door-to-Door Sales Permit application packet, with the April 13, 2010 ordinance · Lynn City Clerk — Forms and Documents · Lynn City Clerk — City Ordinance Code · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• Which hours apply today: the ordinance's 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 P.M., or the form's exclusion of 6:00 PM-10:00 AM
• Whether the $1,000.00 per salesperson is charged for a permit bought late in the year, since it expires December 31
• How often the License Committee hears these and how long CORI takes
• Whether the April 13, 2010 ordinance has been amended since

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