Virginia Beach, Virginia: door-to-door solicitor permit

• The answer: Yes: a solicitor permit from the Police Department before anyone sells uninvited at a residence (26-26). The permit holder lists every employee on the application, and each person working under it gets a photo registration or identification card (26-35). The city's form adds that the permit is not valid until the applicant has a business license from the Commissioner of the Revenue.
• Where it comes from: Virginia Beach City Code Chapter 26, Article II, Commercial Solicitations. Apply at the Police Records Unit, Building 11, 2405 Courthouse Drive, using form PD401 from the department's Permits, Record Checks and Fingerprinting page.
• Fee: $40 per the Police Department's form, which says the fee covers the permit, the required background check and the identification card, and is non-refundable. The code builds it from a $20.00 application fee (26-32), a local record check at $ 15.00 (26-33, 27-3) and $5.00 for each identification card (26-35): 20 + 15 + 5 = 40. The department's fee table lists the identification card form PD401-ID at $5.
• Hours you may knock: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. for solicitors, per the Police Department's permit application. Chapter 26 itself sets no hours.
• What the rep carries: The registration or identification card with the rep's photo, carried and prominently displayed while soliciting (26-35 b). Nobody but the permittee may use or wear a permit or badge (26-40).
• What takes the time: The criminal record check. The Police Chief investigates the applicant's record before issuing, and owes a written reason if it runs past fifteen days (26-33). The form wants a signed, notarized PD-150 record request for the applicant and each employee, a letter of conditional hire on company letterhead, and two forms of ID, one a government photo ID. Police take the photo (26-30). The fingerprint and bond sections were repealed in 2016.
• Code: Virginia Beach City Code 26-16 to 26-40 (Ord. No. 1410, 1983; Ord. No. 3480, 2016; Ord. No. 3484, 2017) and 27-3. Municode showed the code as "Version: Jul 21, 2026 (current)" on the day checked.
• Worth knowing: Every permit expires on December 31 of the year it is issued, whenever you bought it (26-36). Knocking at a home with a "No Solicitation" or similar sign is a class three misdemeanor even with a valid permit, class two on a repeat within twelve months (26-26 c). The employer is liable for what the crew does (26-18). Felony, moral turpitude, violent or fraud convictions within seven years are grounds for denial (26-34).
• Read it yourself: Virginia Beach City Code Chapter 26, Peddlers and Solicitors · Virginia Beach City Code Chapter 27, section 27-3 · Virginia Beach Police Department form PD401, Application for Permit · Virginia Beach Police Department: Permits, Record Checks & Fingerprinting · checked 18 September 2026

Ask the clerk, and write the answer down: Does each rep pay the full $40, or only the $5 identification card when added to a company permit? How long is the record check running right now? Does a permit bought late in the year still expire December 31? Clerk’s name ______________   Direct line ______________   Date called ______________