Soliciting / Door Knocking ?

I would cold door knock, though I could run local ads and go to the houses that respond to the form.
I’ve been doing both cold canvassing and doorknocking from Final Expense direct mail leads for over 30 years. I’ve never been asked whether I have a permit. I’m mostly cold knocking in low income areas, though. That might make a difference. But if you have a response from someone at the address you’re knocking, there’s very little chance you’d get called out for soliciting.
 
Since you're not asking for money at the door, you're not peddling. You're introducing yourself and asking for a conversation and/or a future appointment.

That being said, some cities may say that they want to know about everyone who is knocking doors. And if you ask, they'll just tell you to get the solicitor's permit.

The best person to ask would be a police officer, not necessarily city hall.

At one point, I actually created a name-badge based off my insurance license. I used my driver license photo along with the fonts from the insurance license, state insurance seal, insurance commissioner's signature, license #, everything.

Terrible older DL photo (maybe 6-8 years ago?), but that's what I did. Granted, I did elaborate more about the nature of my license, but it's not like any of it was untrue.

Laminate it like a luggage tag and get a lanyard.
View attachment 14839
I think creating a name badge with your license number is genius! If someone complains or you are confronted by law enforcement, move on.
 
Since you're not asking for money at the door, you're not peddling. You're introducing yourself and asking for a conversation and/or a future appointment.

That being said, some cities may say that they want to know about everyone who is knocking doors. And if you ask, they'll just tell you to get the solicitor's permit.

The best person to ask would be a police officer, not necessarily city hall.

At one point, I actually created a name-badge based off my insurance license. I used my driver license photo along with the fonts from the insurance license, state insurance seal, insurance commissioner's signature, license #, everything.

Terrible older DL photo (maybe 6-8 years ago?), but that's what I did. Granted, I did elaborate more about the nature of my license, but it's not like any of it was untrue.

Laminate it like a luggage tag and get a lanyard.
View attachment 14839

I think creating a name badge with your license number is genius! If someone complains or you are confronted by law enforcement, move on.
IMHO, nothing screams “salesman” like a lanyard badge and a clipboard! But if the concern is with a perception of law-breaking, I suppose the lanyard badge might be helpful.

Back in the days when we all used to wear a coat and tie, I thought I’d try something a little different. I had a name badge made up with my name and agent #. I put it in the front vest pocket of my sport coat. Possibly a mistake making it black with white lettering. I can picture people looking through the peephole, thinking “that’s the oldest Mormon missionary I’ve ever seen!” ;)
 
IMHO, nothing screams “salesman” like a lanyard badge and a clipboard! But if the concern is with a perception of law-breaking, I suppose the lanyard badge might be helpful.

Back in the days when we all used to wear a coat and tie, I thought I’d try something a little different. I had a name badge made up with my name and agent #. I put it in the front vest pocket of my sport coat. Possibly a mistake making it black with white lettering. I can picture people looking through the peephole, thinking “that’s the oldest Mormon missionary I’ve ever seen!” ;)
Haven't seen a Mormon in years.

I use to open the door and start asking all kinds of questions about their bicycles. I think I'm black listed.
 
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