No Soliciting Sign Laws: What Your Sign Does and Does Not Cover

Where the rules come from

In the codes we opened, the rules sit in city and village ordinances, so they change from one town to the next. Some codes give a posted sign real force. Others may only regulate permits and hours, and leave the sign as a plain request. The only way to know is to read your own code of ordinances, usually found on the city website or through the city clerk.

The three examples below come from codes and city pages we opened. They are examples, not a national rule, and codes get amended, so confirm the current text where you live. For related signs, see our property signs and shipping details.

Three city codes that mention a posted sign

Greenwood, Indiana, Code section 4-108 lets an occupant post an easily readable notice on or near the main or front entrance. It then bars a peddler or solicitor from ringing the doorbell, knocking, or attempting a sale at a property with a prominently displayed "No Peddlers/Solicitors" or "No Solicitation" sign. It also makes it unlawful to enter, or fail to leave at once, after the owner or occupant asks.

Hickory Hills, Illinois, Chapter 35 makes it unlawful to peddle or solicit at a premises showing a notice, sign, sticker or warning furnished by the City, at or near the entrance, with the words "No Solicitors". That is a useful warning: some towns tie the rule to the sign the city issues. Novi, Michigan, tells residents that a sign of at least 16 square inches in a conspicuous place, worded like "No Solicitation" or "No Trespassing", keeps solicitors and peddlers out.

Are no soliciting signs legally enforceable?

Where a local code says so, yes, against the kinds of visitors that code covers. Where the code is silent, the sign still states your wishes, and it can support a trespass claim if the visitor stays after you ask them to go. A sign is not a lock. It does not stop anyone from walking up, and enforcement depends on the police or code officers in your town.

A sign also does not work everywhere. Novi's city guidance says a sign posted at the entrance to a whole neighborhood would not be enforceable, and signs may not go in a public right-of-way or on public street signs. Put your sign on your own property, at your own door, and see our private property signs for the boundary of your space.

How trespass law can apply

State trespass statutes often turn on notice, and a posted sign or a spoken request can supply it. In Ohio, Revised Code 2911.21 covers a person who negligently fails or refuses to leave after being told to by signage posted in a conspicuous place or by the owner or occupant, or the agent of either. It also covers entering after notice by posting that is reasonably calculated to reach potential intruders. Each is a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

Florida Statutes 810.09 reaches a person who willfully enters or stays on property other than a structure or conveyance after notice, given by actual communication or by posting, fencing or cultivation as described in section 810.011. For a building, section 810.08 covers a person who is warned to leave by the owner or an authorized person and refuses. Your state may differ, so read its trespass statute.

What a sign usually does not cover

Some codes aim at sales. Greenwood's definition of a solicitor, for example, is built around taking sales orders for goods, services or future work. A neighbor, a mail carrier, a utility worker or a package courier is not a solicitor under that wording. A Packages Here sign can tell couriers where to leave parcels, so your no soliciting sign does not leave them guessing.

Political, religious and charitable callers are a separate question. In Watchtower Bible v. Village of Stratton (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a village permit requirement for door-to-door advocacy violated the First Amendment as applied to religious proselytizing, anonymous political speech and handbills. The Court also called Stratton's separate "No Solicitation" sign provision, which no one challenged, ample protection for a resident who does not want visitors. The opinion did not rule on every sign ordinance, so local counsel matters here.

HOA, apartment and wording tips

A homeowners association or landlord can set its own rules through governing documents or a lease. Read yours before posting at a shared gate or building door, such as with a residents only sign, because a rule only your association has made may be enforced through the association, not the city. Under Ohio's trespass statute an owner's agent can give notice, so a property manager may be able to tell a visitor to leave.

Pair it with a No Trespassing sign if you also want visitors told to stay out. Choose wording that matches the codes you read: No Soliciting, No Solicitors, No Peddlers or Agents, No Trespassing, or No Flyers if handbills are the problem. Novi's handbill rule names "No Handbills" and "No Advertisements" notices. Browse the No Soliciting signs. Make the sign big enough to read from the walk, mount it on or near the main entrance, and check whether your city issues its own sign or sticker.

Common questions

Sources

• Greenwood, Indiana, Code of Ordinances Chapter 4 (city-published copy, sections 4-102 and 4-108)
• Hickory Hills, Illinois, Chapter 35, Solicitors, Canvassers and Peddlers
• City of Novi, Michigan, Soliciting Ordinance page (Sec. 26-10, 26-11 and FAQ)
• Ohio Revised Code 2911.21, criminal trespass
• Florida Statutes 810.09, trespass on property other than a structure
• Florida Statutes 810.08, trespass in a structure or conveyance
• Watchtower Bible & Tract Society v. Village of Stratton, 536 U.S. 150 (2002), full opinion

This guide explains the rules in plain words; it is not legal advice. We read the sources above on October 24, 2026. Rules change and many are set by your state or city: check the current text, or ask your local code official, before you rely on it.