Haverhill Councilors Agree to Increase Door-to-Door Soliciting Restrictions, Fines

By Caroline Louise Cole | July 23, 2025

Solicitors going door-to-door in Haverhill will be limited to knocking only between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, in a change voted unanimously by the City Council Tuesday night.

Currently, vendors can visit private residences until 9 p.m., seven days a week. In addition to eliminating Sundays altogether, the new ordinance would also ban solicitation on holidays. In accordance with the U.S. Constitution, it exempts politicians making campaign pitches as well as those with religious messages.

Ward 4 Councilor Melissa J. Lewandowski proposed the change, noting constituents complain regularly about the annoyance of direct marketing and the aggressiveness of the tactics employed including multiple visits in the space of several weeks.

“It’s become a quality-of-life issue and that’s why I am addressing it. As many of you know already, it is still legal in Massachusetts for there to be door-to-door solicitation. My personal opinion is that should be phased out. It’s not the 1950s anymore and we aren’t selling encyclopedias and I am pretty sure people didn’t like it then either,” Lewandowski said.

Vendors who wish to sell door-to-door must register with the Haverhill Police Department and pay a $100 fee. They also must wear their ID prominently. Councilors also raised the fine for violating the regulation from $300 to $500, the maximum allowed by the state.

Lewandowski encouraged residents who do not wish to be bothered to get on the city’s “Do Not Knock Registry,” maintained by the police department. The directory is given to registered vendors who are required to skip those addresses.

Several councilors and Mayor Melinda E. Barrett praised Lewandowski for suggesting the change to the regulation.

“I usually recommend sending things to committee, but these are so straightforward and sensible I thank you for putting this on,” Barrett said.

The modifications will be sent to the city solicitor’s office for review, and the new proposed ordinance will return to the City Council for final passage.