With the holiday season approaching, the number of solicitors going door-to-door is expected to pick up soon and so are complaints to police.
Houston doesn't require solicitors to get permits, but most smaller towns around Clear Lake do, including League City, Seabrook, Webster, El Lago and Nassau Bay.
Friendswood sent out e-mail this week reminding residents that for-profit solicitors must have a permit to operate there.
Solicitors are allowed to conduct business door-to-door in Friendswood but must first register with police, city spokesman Nick Haby said. Those that are granted a permit receive a peach-colored identification badge that must be worn where it can be seen on the front of their clothing.
The city’s police department already receives a lot of calls from residents about solicitors and whether or not they are allowed to be selling door-to-door, Haby said. But that number climbs even higher during the holiday season because of increased numbers of solicitors, he said.
El Lago City Secretary Ann Vernon said El Lago requires both for-profit and non-profit solicitors to get permits, but non-profit solicitors can get theirs for free. Solicitors with permits are given a laminated card to show residents, Vernon said.
Nassau Bay City Secretary Pat Jones says Nassau Bay does the same, mostly because many of its elderly residents become alarmed when they see someone they don't know going door to door, and they call police.
"This puts their minds at ease," Jones said.
Nassau Bay requires a small fee and passport photos, but it's not tough to get a permit. In her 12 years with the city, Jones said she's only seen one permit revoked, from a gas-light repairman who was rude to people who turned down his pitch.
Many commercial solicitors, however, find it's not worth the trouble of applying for permits just to gain access to a couple of square miles.
"Basically they don't want to fool with us," she said.
Jenny Montgomery contributed to this report.