Southfield, Michigan: door-to-door solicitor permit

Partly read: the permit answer is sourced, but the fee or the hours could not be read from the city’s own pages. The clerk questions below cover the gap.

• The answer: Yes — a solicitor's permit from the City Clerk, plus a badge worn on the person (7.603, 7.609). A solicitor is anyone who goes uninvited onto a private residence to offer goods or services for immediate or future delivery (7.602(d)). The permit carries the permittee's own name and photograph and may not be used by anyone else, so it is one per rep (7.606(c), 7.611).
• Where it comes from: The Southfield City Clerk takes the application and issues the permit; the Chief of Police reviews it and approves or disapproves (7.606).
• Fee: The code sets an administrative processing fee by city council resolution, paid when the application is filed (7.605). The amount is not in the code, and the Clerk's forms page posts no solicitor permit form or fee.
• Hours you may knock: Only between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (7.613).
• What the rep carries: The Clerk's badge, worn so it is conspicuous at all times while soliciting (7.609), and the permit, shown to any prospective customer or city employee who asks (7.610).
• What takes the time: The application needs a driver's license or other ID, two photographs (one taken within one hundred twenty (120) days, at least two inches by two inches), the employer's written credentials, a statement of any convictions, and the vehicle description and plate (7.604). Police review follows (7.606(a)); convictions for sex offenses, drug trafficking, violence, fraud or misrepresentation can block the permit (7.607(a)(3)). No processing time is published.
• Code: Southfield City Code, Title VII, Chapter 84 — Solicitors (7.601 to 7.616). Municode shows the code codified through Ordinance No. 1808, enacted March 17, 2025 (Supp. No. 16).
• Worth knowing: The permit is valid for ninety (90) days unless an earlier date is on it (7.608). No soliciting, with or without a permit, where a "No Solicitors" or "No Solicitation" sign is posted at the entry (7.612).
• Read it yourself: Southfield City Code, Chapter 84 — Solicitors · Southfield City Code — landing page · City of Southfield — City Clerk's Office forms · checked 22 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down:

• The solicitor permit fee set by council resolution, and whether it is per rep
• How many days police review usually takes
• Whether the company also needs a Southfield business license

Clerk’s name ______________ Direct line ______________ Date called ______________