Know your rights · Colorado

Is door-to-door soliciting legal in Colorado?

Short answer: yes — courts won't let cities ban knocking outright. But “legal” is doing less work than solicitors would like you to think. Colorado law makes pressure sales cancelable, cities set their own permit and hours rules, and once you say “leave,” the law is on your side. Here's the whole picture, with citations.

The quick version

Soliciting is legal but regulated — mostly by your city, not the state.
Sellers must identify themselves and their company quickly and truthfully (state law).
Anything you signed at your door can usually be canceled within 3 business days (state and/or federal law).
A solicitor who stays after you say “leave” is trespassing — anywhere in Colorado.
What a posted sign means varies by city: binding in Denver and Fort Collins, weaker on its own in Colorado Springs.

What Colorado state law gives you

C.R.S. § 6-1-105

The 30-second identification rule

Under Colorado's Consumer Protection Act, a door-to-door seller commits a deceptive trade practice unless, within thirty seconds of starting the conversation, they identify themselves, say who they represent, and state why they're at your door.

That’s why the “I’m not selling anything, I’m just an advisor” opener matters: if it isn’t true, it isn’t just annoying — it’s a violation of state consumer law. You can ask, straight out: “Who do you work for, and what are you selling?” They’re required to answer.

C.R.S. § 5-3-402

Three days to cancel anything you signed at your door

If you agree to buy goods or services from someone who solicited you at home, Colorado gives you the right to cancel until midnight of the third business day after you signed. Cancellation just has to be in writing — mailing a note to the address on the contract is enough, and no particular wording is required.

A similar federal rule (the FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule) covers most in-home sales of $25 or more, and requires the seller to tell you about your cancellation right and give you a cancellation form. If you felt pressured into a solar, roofing, or security contract on your doorstep, you have a window to undo it.

C.R.S. §§ 18-4-502 to 18-4-504

A solicitor who won’t leave is trespassing

Colorado's criminal trespass statutes cover anyone who unlawfully enters or remains on your property. A salesperson walking up your path is generally treated as having implied permission to knock — but the moment you tell them to leave, that permission is revoked. Staying to argue, or coming back after being told not to, is where a sales call becomes a trespass matter you can report to police.

“Please leave my property, and don’t come back” is legally sufficient — the words don’t need to be fancy.

Your city sets the door-knocking rules

Colorado's largest cities regulate solicitors in different ways — a good preview of how much this varies town to town. If yours isn't here, search “[your city] solicitor permit.”

Individual peddler’s license required

Denver

Denver requires each commercial door-to-door seller to hold their own city license (Revised Municipal Code, Chapter 47). Two protections are written directly into the code: it’s unlawful for a peddler to solicit at any home displaying a visible no-soliciting sign, and it’s unlawful to keep selling door-to-door from a half hour after sunset until 8:00 a.m. (§ 47-18). Nonprofits and school groups are exempt from the license itself, but the posted-sign and leave-when-asked rules still bind them.

In Denver, your posted sign has direct legal force — soliciting past it is itself a code violation, no warning required.

No general sales permit — the “ask them to leave” city

Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs makes it unlawful to solicit on residential property after you’ve asked the person to leave or to stop soliciting, and the code says a posted “No Soliciting” sign counts as that request (City Code § 9.2.111). The wrinkle: the code’s definition of “soliciting” centers on requests for money or donations, so police guidance treats a pure sales pitch at a signed door as not automatically criminal.

Practical upshot in the Springs: say the words. Once you’ve told a seller to leave, a return visit or a refusal to go is enforceable — before that, the sign alone may not be.

City permit required — and a city-run no-solicitation list

Fort Collins

Fort Collins requires commercial solicitors to hold a city permit ($200 for up to four solicitors, $300 for five or more, plus a city sales tax license), restricts all door-to-door solicitation to 9 a.m. to sunset, and bans solicitation entirely at homes posting a “No Solicitation” or “No Trespassing” sign — including non-commercial canvassers. Residents can also join the city’s own online no-solicitation list, which bars commercial solicitors even without a sign. Violations are complaint-driven: report to Police Services, and be prepared to testify.

Fort Collins runs a municipal version of exactly what a do-not-knock registry does — proof the model works when it’s checkable.

What a “No Soliciting” sign does — and where it falls short

Post one. Where the local code gives it legal force it turns some canvassers away, and everywhere it establishes that a knock wasn't welcome. But the patchwork above exposes the sign's two structural weaknesses: the rules protecting you differ block by block, and a sign creates no record of who ignored it. Enforcement is almost always complaint-driven — and a complaint is only as strong as your ability to say who knocked, and when.

Where NoKnock fits

Make the sign checkable — and the ignoring of it a record

A do-not-knock list a company can actually be held to is the stronger model. NoKnock is that idea for any address in the country — you register free, put a QR decal at your door, and canvassing organizations that subscribe get a “Do Not Knock” answer for your home before anyone walks up. If someone knocks anyway, logging it takes seconds, so the fourth violation reads as a pattern, not four bad afternoons.

Honest caveat: the registry is young, and not every canvasser checks it yet. The decal works on day one regardless — and it's the only option on this page that turns an ignored “no” into a timestamped record.

Religious and political canvassers play by different rules

In Watchtower v. Village of Stratton (2002), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a town can't require a permit for religious, political, or other noncommercial door-to-door canvassing. That's why city permit schemes carve those groups out, and why a “permit, please” challenge only works on commercial sellers.

What survives for noncommercial visitors: the trespass baseline (they must leave when asked) and, in some cities, posted-sign rules that apply to everyone. If you want maximum legal coverage from a sign alone, “No Trespassing” generally sweeps broader than “No Soliciting.”

Common questions

Is door-to-door soliciting legal in Colorado?

Yes, in general — courts have held that outright bans on door-to-door canvassing violate the First Amendment. But it is regulated: Colorado consumer law requires sellers to identify themselves within 30 seconds and gives you three business days to cancel a contract signed at home, and most cities add permit requirements, knocking-hours limits, and rules giving posted No Soliciting signs legal effect.

Is ignoring a No Soliciting sign illegal in Colorado?

It depends on your city. In Denver, soliciting at a home with a visible no-soliciting sign is itself a municipal violation. In Colorado Springs, a posted sign legally counts as a request to stop soliciting, but police guidance treats a pure sales pitch as enforceable mainly after you've verbally told the person to leave. In Fort Collins, all solicitation is banned at homes posting a No Solicitation or No Trespassing sign. Everywhere in Colorado, someone who stays after you tell them to leave is trespassing.

Can I cancel a contract I signed with a door-to-door salesperson in Colorado?

Usually yes. Colorado's home solicitation sales law (C.R.S. § 5-3-402) lets you cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing, by giving written notice to the address on the contract — no special wording required. The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule provides a similar three-day right for most in-home sales of $25 or more.

What hours can solicitors knock on doors in Colorado?

There is no statewide rule — hours are set by each city. Denver bans residential door-to-door sales from a half hour after sunset until 8 a.m.; Fort Collins limits solicitation to 9 a.m. to sunset. Check your own city's code, since many Colorado towns have similar daylight-hours rules.

What should I do when a solicitor ignores my No Soliciting sign?

Ask them to leave in one clear sentence — that request has legal force everywhere in Colorado. Note the company name (Colorado law requires them to tell you within 30 seconds of starting the pitch). If they won't go or come back, report it to your city's non-emergency police line, since a solicitor who remains after being told to leave is trespassing. A do-not-knock registry like NoKnock adds a step signs can't: it logs the visit so a pattern becomes a record.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal advice, and state statutes and city ordinances change — always verify against the current code before relying on a specific provision. Last reviewed July 2026.

The law backs you up. Make it easy to invoke.

Register your address, put the decal by the door, and every rule on this page gets a record to point at. Free, under a minute.

Want the practical playbook too? How to stop door-to-door salesmen