San Marcos, California: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — and it is built as one license for the company plus one identification card for each rep. It is unlawful to carry on business as a solicitor in the city without first getting a license under the uniform licensing procedure (5.04.010(o)). An identification card is issued to a person who holds a valid solicitor's license or who is employed or engaged to solicit by someone licensed as a solicitor in the city (5.20.010(d)), and a licensed solicitor who employs or engages others must give the Issuing Officer the name and permanent and temporary address of every one of them (5.20.020). "Solicitor" is drawn wide: peddlers, hawkers, transient dealers, salespersons, itinerant vendors and anyone who goes to a house to sell services, sell by sample or take orders (5.20.010(k)).
• Where it comes from: The City Clerk. The Issuing Officer is the City Clerk for solicitor licenses (5.04.020), and the application is made on the Clerk's forms (5.04.030, 5.20.040(a)). The Issuing Officer may send copies of the application to any other officer or department needed for a proper investigation, and may forward fingerprints to the California Bureau of Identification (5.20.040(b)).
• Fee: The dollar figures are in the code itself, not a separate schedule. A new solicitor's license is $80.00 for a year or less and a renewal is $70.00 (5.20.030(b)). A new solicitor's identification card is $55.00 and a card renewal is $34.00, but the card is issued without charge to the applicant who has paid the license fee (5.20.030(c)). So a company license plus a card for a second rep is $80.00 + $55.00. The fee goes with the application and is nonrefundable; the code says the fees are not for revenue but to defray the cost of investigation and enforcement (5.20.030(d)). Veterans as defined in Business and Professions Code Section 16102, and agents soliciting solely for an interstate-commerce principal based outside California, are exempt from the fees on proof (5.20.080).
• Hours you may knock: No solicitor may do business from 8:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. local time, except by appointment (5.20.100). The section names no days off.
• What the rep carries: The identification card, displayed on the front of the person so it can be easily seen and read by anyone, and shown on demand to any peace officer (5.20.090). The card carries the licensee's photograph and the expiration date of the license (5.20.060(b)). The license itself has to state that it is not an endorsement by the city of the purpose of the people doing the soliciting (5.20.060(c)).
• What takes the time: Up to thirty days: the Issuing Officer completes the investigation and approves or denies within 30 days of receiving the application (5.20.060(a)). Three photographs and fingerprints go in with it, along with a physical description, local and permanent addresses, the nature of the business and the goods or services, the employer's name and address and the relationship to the applicant, and a statement of every misdemeanor and felony conviction (5.20.040(a)). A license or card may be denied over a conviction for a misdemeanor violating a business-regulating statute or ordinance, a Penal Code Section 290 offense, or any crime whose nature indicates unfitness to act as a solicitor; a nolo plea or bail forfeiture counts as a conviction (5.20.050). Renewal may be filed any time within 30 days before expiry (5.20.030(a)).
• Code: San Marcos Municipal Code Chapter 5.20, Solicitations, Article I (5.20.010 to 5.20.110), with the licensing machinery in Chapter 5.04, Uniform Licensing Procedures. Municode shows the code codified through Ordinance No. 2026-1576, enacted January 13, 2026 (Supp. No. 14, Update 1), with online content updated June 22, 2026.
• Worth knowing: A posted sign wins. No solicitor may contact or try to contact an occupant of a house where a sign or placard prohibiting soliciting is posted at the front, in letters not less than one inch high, unobstructed and clearly visible from the normal entrance (5.20.110(a)). The same rule covers private commercial property open to the public where the signs are posted at all entrances (5.20.110(b)). The license runs one year, or less if the Issuing Officer or the applicant wants a shorter term (5.20.030(a)). Article II of the same chapter is a separate charitable solicitation registration and does not govern commercial sales. Wholesalers calling on retail businesses, students on school activities, farmers selling their own city-grown produce and newspapers are outside the chapter (5.20.070).
• Read it yourself: San Marcos Municipal Code Chapter 5.20, Solicitations · San Marcos Municipal Code Chapter 5.04, Uniform Licensing Procedures · San Marcos Code of Ordinances, title page · checked 20 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• Whether one company solicitor license plus a card per rep is the route the Clerk expects for a sales team
• Where fingerprints and the three photographs are taken, and what the Bureau of Identification check is running at now
• Whether the by-appointment exception in 5.20.100 covers a scheduled return visit set up at the door

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________