On August 15,
2005, the Carmel City Council revised the Chapter 4, Article 1, Division
III, Section 4-26 of the Carmel City Code which regulates
"Door-to-Door Vendors and Solicitors. Effective immediately, any vendor who desires to engage in
door-to-door solicitation
must first apply for a Door-to-Door
Vendor License from the police department. License applications
may be obtained from the records section of the police department,
during business hours, Monday through Friday. Completed vendor
applications will be processed and, if approved, the Door-to-Door Vendor
License and associated identification tags will be issued by the police
department.
The licenses are available for 10 days ($15.00 per vendor) and 120
days ($90.00 per vendor). In addition, 
each vendor must obtain 1
non-transferable identification card ($1.00 each) for each employee or
agent that will be actively soliciting in the community and provide a
$500.00 surety bond at the time the license is issued.
Definitions:
Door-to-Door Solicitation
Door-to-Door Solicitation shall include all methods and means of soliciting funds and/or
of selling commercial products, services or property within the corporate
limits of the City of Carmel (Indiana), by and through the uninvited
in-person solicitation of City residents on private property.
Vendor
A person, partnership, corporation, company, organization or entity who is
NOT AN EXEMPT PERSON and who is engaged in the selling, peddling.
Merchandising or brokering of products, services or property to the
general public for a commercial purpose and/or who is engaged in the
solicitation of funds.
Exempt Person
An exempt person shall include the following:
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An individual
while and to the extent he/she is engaged in protected political
speech or activity.
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An individual
while and to the extent he/she is engaged in protected religious
speech or activity.
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An individual
engaged in the solicitation of funds and/or the sale of cookies,
candies, paper products or similar sundries for and on behalf of a
not-for-profit organization or association that is exempt from the
Indiana Gross Retail Tax.
-
An individual
who, due to pre-exemption or applicable federal or state law, is
exempt from local licensing requirements.
Door-to-Door Solicitation Regulations
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Door-to-door
solicitations shall only be conducted between the hours of
10:00 am and 7:00 pm, local time.
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The
license and ID cards issued by the police department DO NOT
empower the holder to ignore "No Trespassing" signs
or any lawful request to not trespass on private property.
This includes signs posted at the entrance to subdivisions
and/or individual homes and being verbally informed by the
resident or other authorized person that the solicitation is unwelcome.
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Each
solicitor, employee or agent involved in the direct
door-to-door solicitation shall display prominently on their
outermost clothing, the issued Identification Card.
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If a
solicitor uses a vehicle in solicitation activities (such as
transportation to and from various locations or the actual
selling from the vehicle) there must be a sign located in a
conspicuous place on or in the vehicle, identifying the name
of the person, company or organization that the person
represents.
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The
vendor and vendor's employees and agents shall comply with all
federal, state and local laws and regulations while engaging
in door-to-door solicitation.
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Failure
to follow any of these regulations could result in license
revocation.
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