Pedlars
You will need a pedlar’s certificate if you sell door to door or in the street without a stall or fixed location.
What is a pedlar?
To be a pedlar you must:
- Be a pedestrian and trade on foot - trading as you travel rather than travelling to a particular location to trade.
- Carry your goods with you and continually move from area to area
- Generally keep on the move, pausing only to make sales. You must not stay in one location, repeatedly return to the same location or set up a stall.
- A pedlar goes to the customers rather than customers coming to them.
A pedlars certificate
To trade as a pedlar you need a pedlar’s certificate. These can be obtained from a police station in the area in which you have lived for at least 28 days.
You must be 17 years of age or over, a person of good character, and in good faith intend to trade as a pedlar. Once issued you are entitled to trade as a pedlar in any part of the UK providing the certificate remains in force, but you should note that in some local authority areas, and across London, pedlary is restricted to door to door selling.
Certificates aren't required by commercial travellers, sellers of fish, fruit, people selling at markets or fairs.
Selling food and/or drink
Pedlars may sell food or drink but may need to register with us as a food business.
If you fall outside the definition of pedlar you may be a street trader and require a street traders’ consent.
Guidance for pedlars
- A pedlar must 'go from town to town' so as not to frequent the same location every day in Lichfield
- A pedlar must 'travel and trade on foot' so should not use a motor vehicle to carry goods to Lichfield
- A pedlar can remain static in the same location for a maximum of 20 minutes after arrival. You should then move on (at a reasonable speed) to a location which is at least 50 metres away from the first location, and again not remain in that second location for more than 20 minutes without returning to the original location. These requirements are intended to keep a pedlar trading while on the move.
- As a pedlar you must carry goods, continually moving from area to area and not just moving around a town centre
- Pedlars should not use large wheeled trolleys or similar as a device to carry and expose for sale all, or the vast majority of your goods as these can cause an obstruction of the highway which is an offence (Sec. 137 Highways Act 1980)
- Pedlars who trade legitimately are welcome in the district but traders using a pedlar's licence to illegally participate in street trading in either prohibited or consent streets could face enforcement action including the possibility of prosecution under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982