Stockton, California: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes, per rep. Every solicitor files a business license application with a Police Clearance application and a Live Scan form, and the Chief of Police investigates before the license is delivered (5.08.270 E and F). The city's packet says in capitals: "YOU CANNOT CONDUCT BUSINESS UNTIL YOU RECEIVE YOUR PERMIT CARD".
• Where it comes from: Stockton Municipal Code Chapter 5.08, License Taxes, sections 5.08.260 to 5.08.280, read on the city's code host. The paperwork is the City of Stockton Peddlers / Solicitors application packet (revised 02/12/2026), filed with Revenue Services, Business License Tax, 501 W. Weber Avenue, (209) 937-8313, and linked from the city's Business Licenses page.
• Fee: The packet lists Fees: $319.25, made up of Annual Registration Tax $24.00, Annual Flat Rate Tax $50.00, Police Clearance Fees $241.25, and a State Disability Act Fee. The code sets the license at $50.00 per year per solicitor, $15.00 per quarter or $5.00 per day (5.08.270 B), and leaves the application and investigation fee to City Council resolution (5.08.270 E).
• Hours you may knock: The code sets none. The solicitor section (5.08.270) has no hours, and 5.08.280, as amended 12/16/2025, only bars sellers from stopping, standing or parking on a public street, sidewalk or park outside the street-vendor rules. The aggressive solicitation chapter (9.36) sets no residential hours either. The city's packet still reprints an older 5.08.280 with a school-grounds rule (within three hundred feet, prior to 4:00 p.m. on school days); that wording is not in the current code.
• What the rep carries: The permit card, plus an identification card worn plainly visible with at least the rep's name and employer. The company can make the ID card, or the city supplies one for $2.00 (5.08.270 D).
• What takes the time: The police clearance. Each rep fills out a Police Clearance application, brings a color copy of government ID and a Live Scan form, and the packet has a line for an appointment at 22 E Weber Ave. The application says the rep is fingerprinted on the first application and photographed annually. No processing time is given.
• Code: Stockton Municipal Code 5.08.260 (Peddler), 5.08.270 (Solicitor), 5.08.280 (Soliciting or peddling in public places, amended by Ord. 2025-12-16-1212-01), 5.12.010 (Exemptions) and Chapter 9.36 (Aggressive Solicitation). The host shows the code as including legislation through Ord. No. 2026-07-07-0902-02, adopted July 7, 2026.
• Worth knowing: Selling goods you carry and hand over on the spot makes you a peddler under 5.08.260, with the same $50.00 per year tax and the same police investigation. A solicitor exempt under 5.12.010 does not pay the license fee (5.08.270 B); that list includes a solicitor engaged in interstate commerce when the tax would burden that commerce. The code read has no "No Soliciting" sign rule or registry. All fees with the clearance application are non-refundable, per the form.
• Read it yourself: City of Stockton Peddlers / Solicitors application packet (revised 02/12/2026) · City of Stockton Business Licenses · Stockton Municipal Code Chapter 5.08, License Taxes (5.08.260 to 5.08.280) · Stockton Municipal Code Chapter 5.12, Exemptions and Exclusions · Stockton Municipal Code Chapter 9.36, Aggressive Solicitation · Stockton code table of contents (currency statement) · checked 19 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Is there a No Soliciting sign rule or registry the city enforces? How long does the police clearance take from the Live Scan to the permit card? Is the $319.25 per rep, and what is it at renewal? Does the city still apply the school-grounds rule printed in the packet? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________