No Solicitors? How League City Regulates Door-to-Door Visitors

By LCPD Captain John Butler

When it comes to doorbell ringers, a parade of possibilities emerges. From fundraisers, salesmen, and religious organizations to businesses seeking to sell home services, there are a variety of door-to-door solicitors that frequent League City. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that cities have broad authority to regulate peddlers to prevent fraud and protect residents’ privacy. However, the First Amendment prohibits cities from completely banning all peddlers, solicitors, and canvassers from public and private property.

League City’s Solicitor’s Ordinance requires people who want to solicit, canvass, or peddle goods to obtain a permit from the City and display the permit when engaging in these activities. The permit indicates that the individual has been checked for a criminal record, but in no way does it endorse any of the products they are trying to sell. This permit/identification card is required to be worn on the solicitor’s outside clothing and be visible to any person approached. Residents are advised to ask to see this permit and to not conduct business with anyone not in possession of it. Permits expire 30 days after their issue date.

League City’s ordinance also limits the time period from Monday through Saturday between the hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anytime outside those hours are illegal. No solicitation is allowed on Sunday. However, residents need to be aware that because of various court rulings, religious organizations and non-profit youth and sports organizations are NOT required to comply with the League City ordinance.

If you do not want any of this activity on your property you can prevent it in two ways. One is to place a “No Soliciting” or “No Solicitors” sign in your front yard visible from the right-ofway. The sign must NOT exceed one square foot with lettering at least two inches in height. The second method is to place a sticker on your door with the words “No Soliciting” or “No Solicitors” clearly visible to the solicitor. The first method (a sign) prevents the solicitor from entering your property and the second method (a sticker) requires they leave your property as soon as they read the sticker. Signs placed at the entrance to a subdivision or neighborhood DO NOT prevent solicitors from going door-to-door in a community. Individual signs and/ or stickers must be placed by the homeowner on their property. experience.

Residents are encouraged to report aggressive or suspicious solicitors to the League City Police Department immediately at 911 (aggressive or threatening) or to the non-emergency number of 281-332-2566 (suspicious). You will be asked to provide a description of the solicitor and what direction they were headed. Alert neighbors in your community through Nextdoor or if you have a Neighborhood Watch, immediately contact your NW Chairperson.

Peddler: someone attempting to contact a resident to sell a product they have on hand.

Solicitor: someone attempting to take an order for a product to be mailed to the resident at a later date.

Canvasser: someone placing commercial handbills or flyers door-to-door without seeking contact from a resident.

*All three activities require a permit from League City.