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Columbia City amends door-to-door solicitation rules to require ID and permit on person
Summary
The Common Council approved changes to the city's door-to-door solicitation ordinance requiring solicitors to carry a permit and an ID badge showing name and organization; the change was prompted by resident complaints in Eagle Glen.
Columbia City’s Common Council on June 10 approved Ordinance 2025-8, an amendment to the city’s door-to-door solicitation rules that requires solicitors to carry a copy of the permit and display identification while soliciting.
City staff said the change is intended to make it easier for residents to confirm whether a solicitor is permitted without calling city hall. Officials said the amendment responds to resident complaints in the Eagle Glen neighborhood about solicitors who could not produce or would not carry a permit.
A staff member explained the ordinance clarifies information required on a solicitors’ ID badge, including the solicitor’s name, organization, address and phone number, and requires each solicitor to carry the permit while canvassing. “This change in the ordinance mandates they must have it on their person and frankly, it also gives them the opportunity to look at the permit and look at the name tag and make sure that the two match,” the staff member said.
The ordinance also requires applicants to list the names of individual solicitors who will be working under a permit so that a resident can compare the badge and the permit. Existing prohibitions remain in place: solicitors cannot ignore “no soliciting” signs, cannot claim city endorsement and cannot physically touch residents while soliciting, officials said.
Council member Jennifer moved approval of Ordinance 2025-8 on first reading; Council member Tad seconded. The motion passed unanimously among those present and the ordinance will return for a formal second reading.
Background: City staff said the amendment grew from complaints from the Eagle Glen area and aims to empower residents to check a solicitor’s credentials in person rather than contact city hall.
