Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes. Pittsburgh licenses door-to-door sellers as peddlers under its Vending License. The code defines a peddler as a vendor working without a vehicle or unit and adds: "Any person who solicits orders for delivery at a later date shall be deemed a peddler" (719.02(d)). A vendor is anyone who "sells or offers goods, services, wares or merchandise," and no person may be a vendor "on public or private property" without a valid license from the License Officer (719.02(g), 719.04(a)). The license belongs to the business and cannot be transferred; its employees are listed on it, registered again at each yearly renewal, and added by amending the license (719.04(b), 719.06, 719.07(d)).
• Where it comes from: The Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections (PLI), through the OneStopPGH portal or counter. The rules are PLI's Vending Rules and Regulations, March 2026, which expand on Chapter 719, Vendors and Peddlers, of the Pittsburgh Code.
• Fee: Vending License, new and renewal: $135.00 plus a $2.00 technology fee, total $137.00, per the city's vending page ($135.00 + $2.00 = $137.00). The code sets no dollar amount; it says license fees follow 701.07 and "The vendor must pay a fee for each vendor employee listed" (719.12). The per-employee amount is not on the city's vending page. The page says updated vending program fees will be reflected in a revised fee schedule.
• Hours you may knock: The code sets no clock times; it says authorized operating hours are set by the License Officer and published in the program rules (719.08(i), 719.09(b)). The rules say: on the street and sidewalk, peddlers may not operate between 8:00pm and 8:00am in residential areas, or between 12:00am and 6:00am in nonresidential areas (Rules, Permitted Operating Hours). The same paragraph says vendors on private property may operate at any hours if all regulations are followed.
• What the rep carries: Proof of a valid license, displayed in a conspicuous place on the vendor's apparel and visible to police, inspectors and the public (719.04(c)). The rules add that copies of all PLI approved permits and licenses, including the Vendor License, must be prominently displayed (Rules, Posted Permit). No badge is mentioned.
• What takes the time: A City of Pittsburgh Tax Compliance Letter from the Department of Finance, the name and contact information of every employee, a description of the business, and the rest of the business license paperwork (719.07). The code asks for no fingerprints, background check or bond. Peddlers are exempt from the general liability insurance requirement (Rules), but the code's employee definition says workers compensation insurance is required for any vending employee (719.02(b)). The license runs one (1) year (719.06). No processing time is published.
• Code: Pittsburgh Code Title 7, Chapter 719, Vendors and Peddlers, 719.01 to 719.18, read on eCode360. The chapter's history note runs through Ord. No. 35-2025, eff. 11-19-2025, and 719.10 shows an amendment by Ord. No. 37-2025, eff. 12-18-2025.
• Worth knowing: No peddler may stay more than fifteen (15) minutes in one location, then must move at least two hundred fifty (250) feet (719.09(a)); the rules repeat it and say peddlers may move freely in residential areas. Vending without a valid license is a summary offense (719.15). The vendor answers for its employees' violations (719.06).
• Read it yourself: Pittsburgh Code Chapter 719, Vendors and Peddlers (eCode360) · City of Pittsburgh, Vending (PLI) · City of Pittsburgh, Vending Rules and Regulations, March 2026 · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: What is the fee for each employee listed on a Vending License (719.12)? Does PLI treat a rep selling a service contract (internet, solar, pest control) at the door as a peddler under Chapter 719? Do the 8:00pm to 8:00am residential hours apply on a customer's porch, or only on the street and sidewalk? How long does a Vending License take to issue once the Tax Compliance Letter is in hand? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________