Solicitors & Peddlers License

The City of Rockford's Solicitors and Peddlers Ordinance was instituted due to safety concerns and requires a person engaged in commercial home merchandising activities within the City of Rockford to obtain a solicitation license. Commercial home merchandising means the selling, offering to sell, soliciting, taking orders, canvassing, offering service of any kind, character or description, or making demonstrations of any goods, wares, chattel, or things of value for immediate delivery or to be delivered or performed in the future, by any person who goes from residential dwelling to residential dwelling or upon any other privately owned property within the city. Solicitation includes in-person contacts on streets, highways, sidewalks and at residences within the City or the distribution of written material, including the placement or delivery of such materials at the premises or on any property belonging to a third person. Persons engaged in charitable, political or religious solicitation do not have to obtain a license. See Code sections 24-1 through 24-52.

To obtain a license, complete the Solicitors-Peddlers License Application and pay the applicable fee in accordance with the Fee Schedule. The license is good for 90 days. Other requirements include:

• Valid photo ID
• Digital Photo (Similar to passport photo; can be taken from a cell phone)
• Complete State background check by any agency; including all pages and disposition of any cases. You must have background check results at the time of application
  • For new licenses, background checks cannot be more than 3 weeks old prior to beginning of license.
  • Background checks are valid for one year and can be used to renew the license.
  • Change in information will necessitate a new application being filled out.
  • Change in name will necessitate new background check.

Please send application, photo ID, background check and a photo taken in a light background (similar to a passport- shoulders up) to Customer Service.