Nashua, New Hampshire: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — a vendor's license from the City Clerk. No person shall act as a vendor within the City of Nashua unless licensed to do so (231-11(A)). "Vendor" is the umbrella term, and it includes a hawker or peddler: any person, principal, agent or employee, who goes from town to town or place to place in the same town, or from a temporary place of business, selling or bartering or carrying for sale any goods, wares, merchandise, or services (231-10). Services are named, so a fiber, solar or security rep taking orders at the door is inside it. The company that employs the reps is liable for their acts as if it were the rep itself (231-11(F)).
• Where it comes from: The City Clerk's Office, 229 Main Street, on the Clerk's Vendor License Application. Denials, suspensions and new conditions can be taken to the Personnel and Administrative Affairs Committee of the Board of Aldermen within 10 days of the notice, and that committee's decision is final (231-21(C)).
• Fee: $10 for each day less than one week, $25 for one week, or $100 for the year (231-11(G)). The Clerk's own licenses page prints the same three numbers for hawkers and peddlers. Annual licenses expire December 31 whatever month they were bought (231-11(H)).
• Hours you may knock: Not published for hawkers and peddlers. The article sets clock hours for exactly one trade: an itinerant magazine salesman may not work except between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (231-16(A)). Nothing in the article puts hours on a hawker or peddler. The Clerk can attach conditions to any license, and the Building, Health, Police or Fire Departments can order more at any time in the license period (231-11(D)), so hours may arrive on the license itself — read it.
• What the rep carries: The license, displayed in a conspicuous place at all times during the operation of the vending business (231-12(A)). Any health or state license the rep is required to hold is posted conspicuously too (231-11(C)). The license stays the property of the city and goes back to the Clerk on suspension, revocation or when the holder stops working (231-22).
• What takes the time: Insurance is the long pole. The applicant obtains and maintains coverage the city Risk Manager deems appropriate, every certificate names the City of Nashua as an additional insured on all liability policies, and every certificate carries 30 days' written notice of cancellation or material change; the license is void if the insurance ends or the limits drop (231-11(B)(4)). The application also wants the business owner's name and address, a description of the source and type of merchandise or service sold, and details of any stand or motor vehicle (231-11(B)). The article sets no background check, no fingerprinting, no bond and no photograph.
• Code: Nashua City Code Chapter 231, Peddling, Soliciting and Vending, Article II, Vendors, Flea Markets and Street Fairs (231-9 to 231-22), adopted 4-27-2004 by Ord. No. O-04-07 with 231-11 amended 8-13-2024 by Ord. No. O-24-021. eCode360 states the code includes legislation through 02-10-2026.
• Worth knowing: A posted notice counts: no vendor may enter any house, building or premises with a written notice on the front stating that vendors are not desired, unless the occupant consented first (231-13(K)). No loudspeaker or amplifier to draw attention (231-13(B)). The Clerk may suspend or revoke a license for a false statement on the application, a false statement made while working, or any violation of the article (231-21(B)). Article I of the same chapter is about leaflets and charitable fundraising on public sidewalks and lands, not commercial door knocking, and 231-9 charitable solicitation permits are free and run two days only.
• Read it yourself: Nashua City Code Chapter 231 — Peddling, Soliciting and Vending · City of Nashua — Licenses & Permits for Vendors and Special Events · Nashua City Code, table of contents · checked 20 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• Is the $100 annual vendor license bought once per company or once per rep?
• What hours does the Clerk put on a door-to-door hawker and peddler license, if any?
• What insurance limits does the Risk Manager want on the certificate for a walking sales crew?

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________