Mount Vernon, New York: 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 — a Solicitor's License from the City Clerk to enter private residential property for canvassing, vending or soliciting orders for any merchandise, per the city's online application, which cites the code's soliciting section (194-21). The application wording names merchandise, books and printed matter; it does not mention services. Every applicant, new or renewal, is fingerprinted, and ID badges are issued; whether one license covers a whole team is not stated.
• Where it comes from: The Office of the City Clerk, One Roosevelt Square, Room 104, through the city's OpenGov licensing portal.
• Fee: Not published. The online application page lists no fee, and the code chapter could not be read.
• Hours you may knock: Not read. The code chapter was blocked, and the application page lists no hours.
• What the rep carries: An ID badge — two passport photos are turned in when the ID badges are issued, per the application page. The city clerk's newsletter says a license issued to a peddler must be carried and shown to anyone on request.
• What takes the time: Fingerprinting through IdentoGo for every applicant, new and renewal (fingerprints are only valid for six months), a notarized Solicitor Notary Affirmation, two 2-by-2 color passport photos, and a color copy of a government photo ID. Applications not completed within 30 days are canceled. No processing time is published.
• Code: Mount Vernon City Code, Chapter 194 — soliciting is 194-21, linked from the city's application page to eCode360. The section text and the code's currency statement were not read.
• Worth knowing: A separate Peddlers License covers selling goods or food on a public way. The solicitor's license application asks for valid contact details for the applicant's supervisor or manager, and failure to respond leads to denial.
• Read it yourself: City of Mount Vernon — Soliciting License (City Clerk, OpenGov portal) · City of Mount Vernon — City Clerk licensing categories (OpenGov portal) · City of Mount Vernon — Council Connections, June 2024 (Clerk's Corner) · Mount Vernon City Code on eCode360 — Chapter 194-21 (blocked) · checked 23 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• The fee for a solicitor's license, and whether it is per rep or per company
• What hours door-to-door sales are allowed under Chapter 194
• Whether a rep taking orders for a service (such as fiber internet) needs the solicitor's license
• How long the license is valid and how long approval takes after fingerprinting

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________