Portland, Oregon: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: No door-to-door permit was found in Portland City Code. The city's own code search returns no results for “solicitor” or “peddler,” and its results for “door-to-door” and “soliciting” contain nothing on sales at homes. Title 7, Business Licenses, and Title 14, Public Order and Police, have no chapter on solicitors, peddlers or canvassers. Chapter 7.03, Temporary Businesses, licenses only amusement ride operators, temporary structure vendors, promoters, production companies, seasonal vendors and special events vendors (7.03.030) — not door-to-door reps. What still applies: the company's own registration under the Business License Law (Chapter 7.02), which is a business tax, not a per-rep permit.
• Where it comes from: No issuing office, because the code sets up no solicitor permit. The general Business License Law (Chapter 7.02) is a business tax on anyone doing business in the city, not a solicitor permit.
• Fee: None for knocking. The code sets no solicitor permit and so no permit fee. The company's own business tax under Chapter 7.02 is a separate matter from door-to-door work.
• Hours you may knock: Not set. No section of Portland City Code fixes hours for residential door-to-door sales.
• What the rep carries: Nothing city-issued. The code requires no badge or permit for door-to-door sales.
• Code: Portland City Code Title 7 (Business Licenses) and Title 14 (Public Order and Police), chapter lists; Chapter 7.02, Business License Law (7.02.220, Presumption of Doing Business).
• Worth knowing: A company is presumed to be doing business in Portland, and subject to the Business License Law, if it is “delivering goods or providing services to customers within the City” (7.02.220(B)). That is the company's registration, not a per-rep permit. Soliciting for business is barred in city parks and pedestrian plazas (20.12.020, 17.43.030), which does not reach a front porch.
• Read it yourself: Portland code search: solicitor · Portland code search: peddler · Portland City Code Title 7, Business Licenses · Portland City Code Chapter 7.02 · Portland City Code Title 14, Public Order and Police · Portland City Code Chapter 7.03, Temporary Businesses · Portland code search: itinerant · Portland code search: hawker · Portland code search: transient merchant · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Does the city require anything of door-to-door sales reps that is not in the City Code? Is the company registered for the Portland Business License Tax? Do any neighborhoods or HOAs the crew will work post their own rules? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________