A frequent question by neighbors in Ferndale is “When someone, an adult or teenager, comes to my door selling something, how do I know if they are legitimate?”
Per Chapter 5.20 of the Ferndale Municipal Code, a door-to-door solicitor must be licensed by the City of Ferndale before they can legally knock on any door within the city limits. To be licensed, a Peddler & Solicitor license application must be completed and turned in to the city along with the applicable fee. The fee ranges from $10 to $31 and an additional $50 for a background check and fingerprinting.
Individual licenses are issued once a successful background check by the Police Department has been completed. This is intended to increase the safety of the community. Licenses are not issued to companies. They are issued to each individual peddler.
When a licensed peddler or solicitor comes to your door, their city-issued Peddlers & Solicitors License must be visible outside their clothing. It will include the City of Ferndale logo as well as other information about the license holder.
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Click for more informationIt can be confusing when someone knocks on your door selling products to raise money for an altruistic endeavor. There are licensing exemptions for religious soliciting, political candidates and non-profit sales. So they do not need to hold a license.
As for the peddlers’ products’ quality or their willingness to follow through on promises made, those are more “buyer beware” concerns. Researching the company on the Better Business Bureau website or other user review sites may provide some idea of what others have encountered before you.
Kids selling candy has been an uncomfortable situation for years. In some occasions these are not local children and investigations in past years have revealed the organizations behind the effort are violating child labor laws. Other stories on this topic can be found here and here.
If an unlicensed peddler or solicitor is in your neighborhood, Ferndale police ask you notify them by calling 911.
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The penalty for soliciting without a license is $250 per day.