Know your rights · South Carolina

Is door-to-door soliciting legal in South Carolina?

Short answer: yes - courts won't let cities ban knocking outright. But “legal” is doing less work than solicitors would like you to think. South Carolina law makes pressure sales cancelable, local rules on permits and hours vary, 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.
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 South Carolina.
What a posted sign means varies by city: no statewide sign law for a suburban porch, but Greenville makes entering a posted property an offence, and refusing to leave is a crime everywhere in the state.

What South Carolina state law gives you

S.C. Code §§ 37-2-501, 37-2-502

Three days to cancel - with a catch worth knowing

South Carolina’s Home Solicitation Sales Act lets you cancel until midnight of the third business day after you sign, by written notice, effective the moment a properly addressed notice is posted.

The catch is in the definition: § 37-2-501 defines a home solicitation sale as a consumer credit sale negotiated face to face at your residence. If you paid cash outright, the state act may not reach you - but the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule still gives you three days on most in-home sales of $25 or more, and it does not care how you paid.

S.C. Code § 16-11-620

Refusing to leave is a crime, sign or no sign

This is the statute that actually helps at a suburban front door. Anyone who enters the dwelling house or premises of another after being warned not to, or who fails and refuses to leave immediately when asked by the person in possession, can be fined up to $200 or jailed up to thirty days.

The words “leave immediately” are doing real work. You do not have to argue, negotiate, or hear the rest of the pitch.

S.C. Code § 16-11-600

Posted-land notice is conclusive - but it’s written for acreage

South Carolina makes posted notice conclusive against a trespasser, which is powerful. But read how you post: notices in four conspicuous places on the borders of the land, or the state’s purple paint marking. That is a rule written for fields and timberland, not for a townhouse door - which is why § 16-11-620 is the one to reach for in a neighborhood.

Your city sets the door-knocking rules

South Carolina'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."

Peddler permit; posted premises are off limits

Greenville

Greenville does the thing the state code doesn’t: it makes it unlawful for any solicitor to enter upon private premises posted with a sign stating “No Peddlers Allowed,” “No Solicitations Allowed” or words to that effect.

The city also requires a permit to peddle at all, and every permit holder must display it on request - failing to do so is a misdemeanor. Between the two, a Greenville homeowner with a sign has a rule with a name and a number behind it.

Ask to see the permit. In Greenville, refusing to show it is itself an offence.

Peddler’s permit + SLED background check

Charleston

Charleston requires peddlers, charitable solicitors and palmetto artisans to obtain a permit before doing business in the city, and the application requires a criminal records check pulled through the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division within thirty days of applying.

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 South Carolina?

Yes, and it is regulated at the city level. Greenville and Charleston both require permits, and Charleston requires a SLED criminal records check with the application. Statewide, S.C. Code § 16-11-620 makes it a crime to stay on someone’s premises after being asked to leave.

Is ignoring a No Soliciting sign illegal in South Carolina?

It depends on your city. Greenville makes it unlawful for a solicitor to enter private premises posted "No Peddlers Allowed" or "No Solicitations Allowed." Statewide there is no equivalent rule for a residential porch - S.C. Code § 16-11-600 covers posted land and is written for boundary lines and acreage. What always works is asking someone to leave: refusing is an offence under § 16-11-620.

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

Usually yes. Under S.C. Code § 37-2-502 you have until midnight of the third business day, and mailed notice counts when you post it. Note that the state act is written around consumer credit sales negotiated at your residence; if you paid cash, the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule still gives you three days on most in-home sales of $25 or more.

What do I do if a solicitor won’t leave my property in South Carolina?

Tell them clearly to leave, and if they do not, call police. S.C. Code § 16-11-620 makes it an offence to fail and refuse to leave immediately upon being ordered to do so by the person in possession, punishable by a fine of up to $200 or up to thirty days. A note of the date, time and company helps if it happens again.

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 August 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