Palm Beach Gardens, Florida: 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 — each person conducting home solicitation sales in the city needs a home solicitation sales permit from the Palm Beach County Clerk of Circuit Court under Florida Statutes chapter 501 (18-32). The city issues no permit of its own. A home solicitation sale is a sale, lease or rental of consumer goods or services over $25.00, solicited and closed away from the seller's fixed business location (18-31).
• Where it comes from: The Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court. The state statute says applicants file sworn applications with the clerk in the county where they will sell; the clerk sends fingerprints to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the application to the sheriff (F.S. 501.022(2), (3)).
• Fee: Not read. The statute lets the county clerk set a reasonable permit fee to cover administrative costs (F.S. 501.022(2)). The Palm Beach County Clerk's fee page blocked automated reading, so the amount is not on this card.
• Hours you may knock: Home solicitation sales only from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (18-37(a)).
• What the rep carries: The valid permit, at all times, shown to every prospective buyer before starting the pitch (18-33). City police officers are to ask anyone seen conducting home solicitation sales to produce the permit and certificate (18-36). Under the statute the permit is a laminated photo ID card valid for 1 year (F.S. 501.022(7)).
• What takes the time: A sworn application with two recent color photos, a statement of any convictions and a full set of fingerprints taken by law enforcement; the state and the sheriff report back within 60 days after receiving them (F.S. 501.022(2), (3)). The clerk may deny a rep who has not obtained the required county or municipal occupational licenses (F.S. 501.022(4)(c)).
• Code: Palm Beach Gardens Code of Ordinances, Chapter 18 — Businesses, Article II — Home Solicitation Sales (18-31 to 18-37), reenacted by Ord. No. 2, 2018, which repealed the old peddlers and solicitors article. Municode shows the code codified through Ordinance No. 14, 2025, enacted October 9, 2025 (Supp. No. 53). The permit itself comes from Florida Statutes 501.022.
• Worth knowing: The statute excludes, among others, calls made on the express invitation of the resident, and sales by sample, catalog or brochure for future delivery (F.S. 501.022(1)(b)). Florida also bars commercial solicitation at any dwelling showing the statewide sign — at least 8.5 by 11 inches — stating no commercial solicitation is permitted under section 501.062 (F.S. 501.062(3)).
• Read it yourself: Palm Beach Gardens Code, Chapter 18, Article II — Home Solicitation Sales · Florida Statutes 501.022 — Home solicitation sale; permit required · Florida Statutes 501.062 — Unauthorized commercial solicitation · Palm Beach Gardens Code of Ordinances — landing page · Palm Beach County Clerk — Circuit Civil court fees (not readable — blocked) · checked 23 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• The Palm Beach County home solicitation sale permit fee, and how long the permit takes to issue
• Whether a fiber or service rep selling from a brochure for future installation falls under the F.S. 501.022(1)(b)4 exclusion
• Whether the city also requires its own business tax receipt for a door-to-door company

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________