Somerville, Massachusetts: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes — registration with the chief of police before calling at residences without the occupant's previous consent to seek purchases or orders for goods or services (8-146, 8-147). The company's authorized representative applies, listing every rep; each approved solicitor gets a certificate of registration (8-148). Hawkers and peddlers who carry and sell goods fall under a separate article instead: a state license from the commonwealth's director of standards, then a certificate of registration from the city clerk (8-77).
• Where it comes from: The Somerville Police Department, on its form, in person between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, excluding holidays, or by mail (8-148).
• Fee: Article VIII sets no fee for the solicitor certificate of registration. The hawker and peddler registration fee is set annually by the city council and is not printed in the code (8-77).
• Hours you may knock: The code sets no knocking hours for registered solicitors. The only clock times in Article VIII are the police office's application hours (8-148).
• What the rep carries: The certificate of registration, carried at all times while soliciting and shown to anyone solicited who asks (8-148).
• What takes the time: Complete applications are acted on within three business days (8-148). The sworn application lists each rep's Social Security number, date of birth and addresses, a photo of each rep, vehicles, the three most recent communities worked, and felony convictions within five years; a felony within five years bars a certificate (8-148). Certificates expire within one year of issue (8-149).
• Code: Somerville Code of Ordinances, Chapter 8 — Licenses, Permits and Miscellaneous Business Regulations, Article VIII — Door-to-Door Solicitors and Canvassers (8-146 to 8-152, Ord. No. 1994-13) and Article IV — Hawkers and Peddlers (8-76 to 8-80). The enCodePlus page shows no "current through" line.
• Worth knowing: Check every door for a notice that no solicitors are welcome and leave at once if one is posted; leave when the occupant asks (8-151). No ruse that misrepresents who is calling to get into a home (8-150). Insurance agents and route salespeople calling on established customers are exempt (8-146).
• Read it yourself: Somerville Code of Ordinances, Chapter 8 (Articles IV and VIII) · Somerville Online Municipal Code — home · checked 22 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• Whether the police charge any fee for a solicitor certificate of registration
• Whether the city sets knocking hours outside the code
• Whether a rep who only takes orders for a service (fiber, pest) registers with the police under Article VIII rather than as a hawker or peddler

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________