Q-
We have had several questions regarding door to door sales and solicitation.

A-
Here are the requirements and restrictions for those involved in this type of business.

If you see anyone in violation of these requirements, or suspect that they are in violation of the County's permit requirements, please call to have these people checked out.

Door to Door Solicitations

All solicitors in Cobb County, with only two exceptions, must be registered and permitted through the Cobb County Business License Office at 191 Lawrence Street Marietta, GA 30060-7000 (770) 528-8410, (770) 528-8414 fax, businesslicense@cobbcounty.org

A solicitor is defined as a person selling door to door any product for monetary xchange. Each solicitor must have with them at all times a card which identifies who they are and the company with who they are affiliated. They must have in their possession a sufficient number of cards with this information to leave one with each resident if requested.

I'm sure you noticed the "with only two exceptions" portion of the first sentence above. There are two groups of solicitors that are not regulated and we cannot do anything about. These groups are identified as "Religious" and "Political/Government" solicitors who routinely sell a product or ask for donations and/or contributions as partof a fund raising effort. These groups we cannot do anything about while all others must adhere to the regulations as set by the law and the Cobb County Business License Code Enforcement.

While it is good that you have installed a "No Solicitation" sign at your entryway, the law clearly states that any resident who does not wish to receive solicitations must exhibit, in plain sight at their front door, a sign clearly stating "No Solicitation". This means that the entryway sign is unenforceable by law as the signs must be affixed and visible at the individual residence.

Any solicitor who approaches a residence exhibiting a "No Solicitation" sign must turn away and not solicit at that individual residence or else they will be in violation of law. This does not apply to those groups identified in the exceptions. Unfortunately, the law does not allow for an Association to make a blanket prohibition for an entire subdivision (i.e. Entryway signage).

Residents routinely are not sure who is soliciting in their neighborhood. Understanding this, we will gladly respond to any call from our Cobb County citizens to check these individuals out and ensure adherence to the applicable laws. While we ould prefer this type of call come in on the Cobb County Communication Center 's Non Emergency line at (770) 499-3911, if a person does not have this telephone number handy the use of 911 is certainly acceptable.

Lastly, your entryway signage is a good thing so leave it up. Past history indicates that these signs may reduce the number of solicitors you get inside the subdivision, however, please understand that it is totally unenforceable by our department.