Santa Ana, California: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes: a business license, and it reaches every rep. Anyone going place to place taking orders for goods or services pays a solicitor's license tax unless otherwise licensed or established in the city (21-107). The company can take out a Principal's Solicitor's License instead and list every rep (21-108); the city then issues a Peddler/Solicitor Card to each person on the list.
• Where it comes from: Santa Ana Municipal Code Chapter 21, Article IX, sections 21-107 to 21-109. Issued by the Business Tax Office in Finance, 20 Civic Center Plaza, (714) 647-5447. Forms and current rate sheets are on the city's Business license tax forms page.
• Fee: On the city's rate sheets effective 11/1/2025: Peddler/Solicitor (Principal) $ 440.00, plus $ 39.00 for each person engaged in peddling. A solicitor licensed on their own as principal is $275 annually, and an independent contractor solicitor is $ 39 annually. Each sheet adds a $ 4.00 State Disability Access fee and a $ 17.00 Registration Fee. The code prints older base amounts (21-120s) and adjusts them every November 1 by the consumer price index (21-120).
• Hours you may knock: Not set. The peddler and solicitor sections of Chapter 21 give no knocking hours, and neither do the city's business license pages.
• What the rep carries: The Peddler/Solicitor Card the city issues to each listed rep; the form says cards cannot be swapped or transferred. The city's license regulations page adds that anyone without a fixed business address must physically carry the Business License Tax Receipt (or decal card) and present it on request.
• What takes the time: Paperwork, not vetting. The collector will not issue the principal's license until the company files a list of every peddler and solicitor and signs an agreement to report personnel changes in writing within five days (21-108). Sellers of taxable goods must give a state seller's permit number first (21-109). No background check, fingerprinting or bond appears in these sections. No processing time is posted.
• Code: Santa Ana Municipal Code 21-107, 21-108, 21-109 (Ord. No. NS-1922, 1987, amended through Ord. No. NS-3028, 2022), rates at 21-120p and 21-120s, inflation adjustment at 21-120. Municode showed the code as "Version: Sep 1, 2026 (current)" on the day checked.
• Worth knowing: A company with a fixed place of business in Santa Ana for at least ninety days, with a state seller's permit number for it, is outside 21-107 (21-107 b). The city's FAQ exempts wholesale reps calling on existing clients. The principal's list has to stay current: every change in who is knocking goes to the Business Tax Office within five days, by the form or by email to the address printed on it.
• Read it yourself: Santa Ana Municipal Code Chapter 21, Article IX (21-107 to 21-109) · Santa Ana Municipal Code Chapter 21, Article X, Rates and Schedules · City of Santa Ana 2026/2027 Business License Tax Fee Schedule, Variable Flat Rate · City of Santa Ana 2026 Business License Tax Fee Schedule, Flat Rate · City of Santa Ana Report of Peddlers/Solicitors form · City of Santa Ana FAQ on peddling and soliciting licenses · City of Santa Ana, Regulations Applicable to Business Licenses · City of Santa Ana Business license tax forms · checked 18 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Are there set hours for residential door-to-door sales anywhere in the code? Is there a No Soliciting sign rule that binds commercial reps? How long does it take to get the Peddler/Solicitor Cards after the list is filed? Does the $ 17.00 Registration Fee apply once per company or per rep? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________