St. Paul, Minnesota: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes, if your reps take money up front. A solicitor license is required of anyone going house to house taking orders for future delivery, but the chapter applies “only to solicitors who demand, accept or receive payment or deposit of money in advance of final delivery” (345.01, 345.02). A solicitor doing business by appointment is carved out (345.02). Each rep needs a personal license; none may be shared (345.07).
• Where it comes from: The application is filed with the license inspector, and the license division takes the photo and issues the badge (345.05, 345.06). Solicitor is a Class R license, issued by the director without council approval (310.01).
• Fee: $85.00 for a Solicitor license, per the license fee table in section 310.01, which 310.15 says includes the application fee. The license expires one year from the date of original application (345.04(b)).
• Hours you may knock: Chapter 345 sets no knocking hours.
• What the rep carries: A city badge with a current photo, the license number and the expiration date, worn in a conspicuous place on the outer clothing (345.06).
• What takes the time: A surety bond of $1,000.00 must come with the solicitor application (345.09). The license division takes the rep’s photo at application and again at each yearly renewal (345.05(g)). The application also needs the Minnesota sales tax permit number and proof of workers’ compensation compliance (345.05(h)). The code gives no processing time. The city's license page adds that every applicant and current license holder must come in person to the Department of Safety and Inspections office to finalize the application or renewal and get the badge, and that applications are filed online in the city's PAULIE platform.
• Code: St. Paul Legislative Code, Chapter 345, Peddlers, Solicitors and Transient Merchants (345.01 to 345.11); Chapter 310, Uniform License Procedures (310.01 fee tables, 310.15). Municode shows the version as Aug 21, 2026 (current).
• Worth knowing: A home showing a “NO SOLICITORS” card at the main entrance is off limits: the rep must check for it first and leave at once without disturbing the occupant, and knocking in defiance of the card is declared a nuisance (345.11). That rule covers every peddler, solicitor or merchant, licensed or not. Charitable, religious, political and educational canvassing registered with the state, and newspaper delivery orders, are exempt from the chapter (345.03).
• Read it yourself: St. Paul Legislative Code Chapter 345 · St. Paul Legislative Code Chapter 310, Uniform License Procedures (fee tables) · City of Saint Paul, Peddlers, Solicitors and Transient Merchants · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Whether a rep who signs a customer up with no payment or deposit at the door needs the solicitor license; Whether the bond is per rep or one bond can cover a company’s crew; How long the license division takes to issue the license and badge; Whether any other city rule limits the hours for knocking. Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________