New Haven, Connecticut: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes. It is unlawful to go door to door selling or soliciting orders for merchandise, services or subscriptions, without a prior specific request from the occupant, unless the rep first gets a home solicitation license (17-9.1). The license is personal and cannot be transferred (17-9.4).
• Where it comes from: The license issuer under Chapter 17, Article I, Licenses and Permits in General (17-9), with the Police Chief or his designee investigating the applicant's business conduct before it is issued (17-9.3).
• Fee: $290 per year for a Connecticut resident, $350 per year for a non-Connecticut resident, per the city's fee schedule (17-201). The applicant also files a $1,000 bond with the issuer before the license is granted (17-9.3(a)).
• Hours you may knock: 9:00 a.m. to sunset. A licensee may not conduct door-to-door sales before 9:00 a.m. or after sunset (17-9.5(a)).
• What the rep carries: The license identification card, which includes the licensee's full name and photograph, on their person at all times while working, shown to anyone who asks to see it (17-9.4).
• What takes the time: The $1,000 bond, a photo for the license identification, and a Police Department investigation of the applicant's business conduct — including checks with police departments, the Better Business Bureau, consumer protection and the neighborhood to be solicited (17-9.3). The application also requires a valid Connecticut state tax number (17-9.2(a)).
• Code: New Haven Code of Ordinances, Title III, Chapter 17, Licenses and Permits, Article IX, Sales Door-to-Door (17-9 through 17-9.7), current through Ordinance No. 2025-0018, enacted September 11, 2025.
• Worth knowing: Article IX lists twenty specific prohibited sales practices for licensees — false urgency, misrepresenting endorsements, fake test/trial installs, gaining entry by pretending to be a utility or government inspector, and more (17-9.5(b)-(t)); a licensed rep must give the customer a written contract before starting work over $50 (17-9.7). No one under 16 may solicit under this article without working papers or other legal authorization (17-9.6). Violators are fined under Connecticut General Statutes Section 21-38, with each day of operating unlicensed a separate violation (17-9.1(b)).
• Read it yourself: New Haven Code of Ordinances, Article IX, Sales Door-to-Door · New Haven Code of Ordinances 17-201, Article XX, Fees and Charges · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: How long the police investigation of a new applicant typically takes; Whether the $1,000 bond can be a corporate/company bond covering the whole sales team or must be posted per individual; Whether the city enforces a No Soliciting sign rule or keeps a do-not-knock registry. Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________