Missoula, Montana: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — an Itinerant Vendor business license, plus a police background check for every owner and employee. An itinerant vendor is anyone retailing to consumers by going door to door, including taking orders for goods or for services to be performed in the future (5.04.010). Each individual doing transient vendor business must have the license before soliciting any customer (5.56.020(A)), and itinerant vendors count as a business whatever their gross receipts (5.04.010).
• Where it comes from: City of Missoula Community Planning, Development and Innovation (CPDI), Business Licensing, 435 Ryman St. The city's own license guide says anyone selling or vending products door-to-door applies for an Itinerant Vendor License. Applications go to coordinators@ci.missoula.mt.us or by mail or drop-off.
• Fee: Set by council resolution (5.08.030). The 2026 Business License & Registration Fee Schedule lists Itinerant / Mobile Vendor at $ 50 per FTE (full-time-equivalent owner or employee), minimum $ 200 (4 FTE), maximum $ 4,250 (85 FTE). Background Checks Investigations: $ 70 per background check. Renewal: $ 27 per FTE, minimum $ 108. A tech fee of 5% of total fees is added. The license fee is not prorated.
• Hours you may knock: Title 5 and the solicitation chapter (9.36) set no knocking hours.
• What the rep carries: A license for a business with no fixed place of business is carried by the licensee while doing business and shown to any customer or police officer on demand (5.08.070).
• What takes the time: Every full- and part-time employee of a business selling or soliciting at residences gets a police background investigation, including a criminal record check, within ten days of employment (5.08.130(A)). Certain convictions (violent felonies, sexual offenses, fraud or deceptive practices) send the license or the employee to the Business License Appeal Committee (5.08.130(D)). The application says licenses do not enter departmental review until payment is received. No processing time is published.
• Code: Missoula Municipal Code, Title 5 — Licenses: 5.04.010 (definitions), Chapter 5.08 — Licensing Provisions Generally, Chapter 5.56 — Street Vendors; and Chapter 9.36 — Solicitation and Aggressive Solicitation. Read from the city's own Title 5 and Title 9 documents; Title 5 carries amendments through Ord. 3780, 2026.
• Worth knowing: The long-term license runs through May 31 of the license year whatever the issue date; a short-term license is good for one week (5.56.020(A), 5.08.030(D)). No soliciting on private or residential property after being asked to leave or to refrain by the owner or occupant (9.36.050(I)).
• Read it yourself: Missoula Municipal Code, Title 5 — Licenses (city document) · Missoula Municipal Code, Title 9 — Peace, Morals and Welfare (city document) · City of Missoula — Business Licensing · City of Missoula Business License & Registration Fee Schedule 2026 · City of Missoula Itinerant Vendor License Application (Rev. 01/01/2026) · checked 22 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• Whether the per-FTE fee counts every door-to-door rep, including short-term summer reps
• Whether a rep may knock before the police background check comes back
• How long licensing review and the background check usually take

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________