Sterling Heights, Michigan: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes. The city defines ITINERANT MERCHANT to include anyone going house to house "who takes or attempts to take orders from consumers for sale of goods, wares and merchandise... for future delivery or for services to be furnished or performed in the future" (§ 39-2) — squarely covering a door-to-door rep who takes an order for future installation. No person may engage in that business "without first obtaining an annual license" from the City Clerk (§ 39-3). The license is per person: the application lists "the name of the individual or individuals who will sell or solicit," each with their own resident address, driver's license number, date of birth, physical description, and photograph (§ 39-4).
• Where it comes from: The Office of the City Clerk issues the license and processes the application; the application and driver's license copy are also sent to the Police Department.
• Fee: $153.00 per solicitor, per the City Clerk's current application form. The code itself sets the fee by the city's annual appropriations ordinance rather than a fixed dollar figure in the chapter text (§ 39-5(4)).
• Hours you may knock: 9:00am to 8:00pm Standard Time, or 9:00am to 9:00pm Daylight Saving Time, per the City Clerk's application form. Chapter 39's own text sets no separate hours section; the license itself states "the time periods during which the license holder may solicit" (§ 39-5(3)).
• What the rep carries: The license, displayed so it is visible to anyone the rep deals with while soliciting (§ 39-5(5)).
• What takes the time: Two 2x2 inch photos (frontal view, no hats/hoodies/sunglasses), a right-thumb fingerprint, and a copy of the driver's license all go with the application, which is then sent to the Police Department for notification (per the application form). The Clerk denies a license to anyone convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude (§ 39-5(1)(a)). Groups with more than 5 applicants total must call the Clerk's office to schedule an appointment.
• Code: Sterling Heights Charter and Code of Ordinances, Chapter 39: Peddlers, Itinerant Merchants and the Like, §§ 39-1 through 39-7, hosted on American Legal's codelibrary.amlegal.com.
• Worth knowing: No door-to-door sales or solicitation is permitted at any time on property posted "No Solicitors," "No Trespassing," or similar, except by invitees, and a rep must leave immediately once told to by whoever is lawfully in possession of the premises (§ 39-6(7), § 39-6(8)). Agents of utility companies or firms franchised by the city, and anyone registered under Chapter 41, are excluded from the ITINERANT MERCHANT definition entirely (§ 39-2) — worth asking the clerk whether an Omni Fiber franchise agreement with the city changes this for its own reps.
• Read it yourself: Sterling Heights Code, Chapter 39: Peddlers, Itinerant Merchants and the Like · Sterling Heights Code § 39-4, Same-Application; Contents · Sterling Heights Code § 39-5, Same-Standards; Contents and the Like · Sterling Heights Code § 39-6, Regulations · City of Sterling Heights, Application for Transient or Itinerant Merchants, Commercial Solicitors, Peddlers and Hawkers License (PDF) · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Whether Omni Fiber (or Earned Collective as its sales agent) already holds a city franchise agreement that would exempt its reps under § 39-2's utility/franchise carve-out; Whether the $153 fee is billed once per rep for the full calendar year regardless of when in the year they start; How long the police notification and background review typically take before a license is issued. Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________