Know your rights · Washington

Is door-to-door soliciting legal in Washington?

Short answer: yes — courts won't let cities ban knocking outright. But “legal” is doing less work than solicitors would like you to think. Washington 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.
Anything you signed at your door can usually be canceled within 3 days (state and/or federal law).
A solicitor who stays after you say “leave” is trespassing — anywhere in Washington.
What a posted sign means varies by city: strong — under RCW 9A.52 a posted sign is notice and prosecutors need not prove the solicitor saw it (a reasonable person would know they’re unwelcome); cities like Tacoma also require fingerprinted permits.

What Washington state law gives you

RCW 63.14.154

Three days to cancel a doorstep sale

Washington lets you cancel a sale solicited in person at a place other than the seller’s address by mailing notice by midnight of the third day (excluding Sundays and holidays). Certified mail with return receipt is the safe route. Motor-vehicle sales are the main carve-out.

The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule adds the same three-business-day window for most in-home sales over $25, and the Washington Attorney General publishes both under “Cancellation Rights.”

RCW 9A.52.080

A posted sign is notice — and they don’t have to prove you saw it

Washington second-degree criminal trespass covers knowingly entering or remaining unlawfully. A posted “No Soliciting” or “No Trespassing” sign supplies notice, and — importantly — prosecutors don’t have to prove the person actually saw the sign; they can argue a reasonable person would have known they weren’t welcome. Fencing, hedges, or a chained drive reinforce it.

A spoken request to leave removes all doubt. Either way, a solicitor who presses on is committing a misdemeanor.

Municipal ordinances

No statewide permit — and no city can ban it outright

Washington cities and counties license solicitors under their police power, so permits and rules are local. But a city can’t totally ban door-to-door solicitation — that runs into the First Amendment — so ordinances regulate conduct, hours, and permits instead. Check your city; most require a license.

Your city sets the door-knocking rules

Washington'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.”

Door-to-door license + fingerprint background check

Tacoma

Tacoma requires a Door-to-Door Solicitors license reviewed by the Police Department, with fingerprinting for a state and federal background check and a photo ID card the solicitor must carry at all times while working. It’s one of the more rigorous vetting processes in the state.

Business license + trespass enforcement

Seattle

Seattle regulates commercial door-to-door selling through its business-licensing rules, and enforces posted no-soliciting signs through the state trespass statute. City guidance routinely reminds residents that a solicitor who ignores a sign or a request to leave can be reported for trespass.

Itinerant vendor / solicitation permit

Spokane

Spokane requires solicitors and itinerant vendors to obtain a city permit before going door-to-door, with charitable solicitation handled under its own permit. As statewide, the permit sits on top of the trespass and cancellation protections rather than replacing them.

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 Washington?

Yes, but cities license and regulate it — Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane all require a permit or business license, and Tacoma fingerprints solicitors for a background check. A city can’t ban door-to-door soliciting outright, but state law lets you cancel most doorstep sales within three days, and a posted "No Soliciting" sign is enforceable notice under the trespass statute.

Is ignoring a No Soliciting sign illegal in Washington?

It can be. Under RCW 9A.52.080, a person who enters or remains after a posted sign or a request to leave commits second-degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor. Notably, prosecutors don’t have to prove the solicitor actually saw the sign — they can argue a reasonable person would have known they weren’t welcome.

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

Usually yes. RCW 63.14.154 lets you cancel a sale solicited in person away from the seller’s address by mailing notice by midnight of the third day (excluding Sundays and holidays); certified mail is safest. The federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule adds the same three-business-day right for most in-home sales over $25. Motor-vehicle sales are excluded.

Do door-to-door solicitors need a permit in Washington?

In most cities, yes. There is no statewide license, but cities such as Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane require a solicitor permit or business license, and Tacoma requires fingerprinting and a background check. A legitimate solicitor should be able to show a current city license if you ask.

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