Plantation, Florida: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: No solicitor permit. Plantation's peddlers and solicitors division regulates conduct at the door, not registration — it defines canvassers and solicitors, tells them how to approach a house, and makes ignoring a "no soliciting" sign a trespass (14-135, 14-136). There is no application, no badge and no police check in it. What the city does require is a local business tax receipt: every person engaging in or managing any business in the city applies to the city clerk and pays the tax before starting (14-18).
• Where it comes from: The city clerk, for the business tax receipt (14-18, 14-21). The door rules sit in Plantation City Code Chapter 14, Article IV, Division 5, Peddlers and Solicitors; the receipt sits in Article II, Local Business Taxes.
• Fee: No solicitor fee is published, because there is no solicitor permit. The local business tax schedule at 14-39 has no peddler, solicitor or canvasser classification; the nearest line is class 26, "SERVICES (where no state license is required) .....105.00," whose subclass e is "Agency, or agents, where no other applicable classification is provided." The schedule's amount column is dollars and prints no sign on that row. Which class a fiber sales company falls in is the clerk's call, so ask before assuming.
• Hours you may knock: Plantation sets no knocking hours, and says so on purpose. The council wrote that the section "will not operate to totally ban or regulate the permitted hours of door-to-door soliciting and canvassing," and leaves residents to protect their own privacy by posting a sign (14-136(a)). Working late is not a code violation here; ignoring a posted sign is.
• What the rep carries: The code names nothing for a door-to-door rep — no badge, no permit card. The business tax receipt is the company's document, posted at its place of business (14-28). Carry company photo ID as a matter of course.
• What takes the time: Nothing at the door. The only city step is the business tax receipt from the clerk, which runs on the city's own application and code compliance review (14-18, 14-23). Florida's home solicitation sale permit (F.S. 501.022) is filed with the clerk of the circuit court — here, Broward — and that is the step to start early.
• Code: Plantation City Code Chapter 14, Article IV, Division 5 (14-135 to 14-139), and Article II (14-18, 14-39). Division 5's uninvited-solicitation section was added by Ord. No. 1472, adopted May 27, 1987. Municode shows the code as codified through Ordinance No. 2026-003, adopted March 25, 2026 (Supp. No. 30, Update 1), content updated July 8, 2026.
• Worth knowing: The sign rule has teeth. A rep must walk from the road right-of-way straight to the front or main entrance, look for a posted notice, and leave at once if one is there; side and rear yards are off limits unless the occupant invites the rep in (14-136(b)(1)). Ringing the bell in defiance of a posted notice is a trespass, and so is not leaving when asked (14-136(c)). The qualifying signs read "NO SOLICITATION INVITED." or "NO SOLICITING" in durable material with letters at least three-quarters of an inch high (14-136(d)). A violation carries a fine of not less than $25.00 and no more than $500.00 per offense (14-136(e)). Leaving door hangers is separately unlawful: advertising material or samples may not be left or hung at a private residence without the occupant's consent (14-137(a)). Roadway soliciting on named roads is banned (14-139), and selling on foot or from a vehicle within 2,500 feet of a school, city-operated park or recreational facility is unlawful (14-138(a)).
• Read it yourself: Plantation City Code Chapter 14, Article IV, Business Regulations (Division 5, Peddlers and Solicitors) · Plantation City Code Chapter 14, Article II, Local Business Taxes (14-18, 14-39) · Plantation Code of Ordinances, title page · Florida Statutes 501.022, Home solicitation sale; permit required · checked 20 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• Does a door-to-door fiber sales company with no office in Plantation need a city business tax receipt, and under which classification?
• Does the city register or badge individual door-to-door reps in any way?
• Are there hours the police expect reps to stop knocking, given the code sets none?
• Does the city ask to see the Broward County home solicitation sale permit?

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________