Pittsburg, California: 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 city business license (5.04.050(A)) and, with it, a business permit from the finance director (5.04.050(B), 5.12.030(B)). The license tax schedule has a flat rate for solicitors (5.04.250). The only solicitor permit in the code, from the chief of police, is for charitable house-to-house solicitation (9.52.010).
• Where it comes from: The finance director, for both the license and the business permit; the permit application is filed at the same time as the license application (5.04.020(H), 5.12.130(A)).
• Fee: Solicitors: $10.00 per day under the license tax schedule, paid each day in advance (5.04.250, 5.04.220(B)(1)). The code does not define "solicitor" or say whether the rate is per rep. The business permit carries a separate nonrefundable fee set by council resolution (5.12.070); that resolution could not be read.
• Hours you may knock: The code sets no knocking hours.
• What the rep carries: A licensee without a fixed place of business in the city keeps the license on their person at all times while doing the business (5.04.210(B)).
• What takes the time: The business permit application, under penalty of perjury, lists criminal convictions within the last 10 years for the applicant, partners over 10 percent and the manager (5.12.130(B)(5)(c)). No processing time is published.
• Code: Pittsburg Municipal Code, Title 5, Chapter 5.04 — Business Licenses (5.04.250) and Chapter 5.12 — Business Permits, and Title 9, Chapter 9.52 — Solicitors. Code Publishing shows the code current through Ordinance 25-1531, passed June 2, 2025.
• Worth knowing: Soliciting sales for later delivery to passersby on a public street or sidewalk, or in a doorway or entranceway abutting one, is prohibited (9.52.020).
• Read it yourself: Pittsburg Municipal Code, Chapter 5.04 — Business Licenses · Pittsburg Municipal Code, Chapter 5.12 — Business Permits · Pittsburg Municipal Code, Chapter 9.52 — Solicitors · Pittsburg Municipal Code — Code Publishing landing page · checked 22 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• Whether each door-to-door rep pays the solicitor rate of 5.04.250 per day, or the company pays once
• The current business permit fee under 5.12.070 and the business license processing fee
• Whether any code change after June 2025 added solicitor rules or knocking hours

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________