Baytown, TX Soliciting & Door-to-Door: No-Knock Registry (2026)
Key Facts
- Sales hours
- 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. only
- Sunday sales
- Prohibited entirely
- No-knock mechanism
- Posted sign bars entry (Sec. 74-33(b))
- Minimum fine
- $200.00 per violation
- Repeat counts
- Each sale/offer is a separate offense
- Enforcing officials
- Fire, police, engineering, health, planning directors
Summary
Baytown gives residents a legal shield against door-to-door peddlers: post a sign on your property or at the entrance that a merchant would reasonably notice, and Sec. 74-33(b) makes it unlawful for an itinerant merchant to solicit, sell, or take orders there without your consent. Merchants are also barred from selling before 9:00 a.m., after 7:00 p.m., or on Sundays under Sec. 74-32.
Sec. 74-32. - Hours. (a)It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any activity described in the definition of "itinerant merchant" in section 74-26 except between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.(b)It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any activity described in the definition of "itinerant merchant" in section 74-26 on a Sunday. ... Sec. 74-33. - General prohibitions. ...An itinerant merchant shall not, without effective consent,(1)Solicit, sell or offer for sale any goods, merchandise or service or(2)Exhibit goods or merchandise for sale or for the purpose of taking orders for sale at a home or residence at any time when a sign is posted on the property or at the entrance to the residence, is reasonably likely to come to the attention of the itinerant merchant, and indicates that entry or solicitation is forbidden.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 83 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 74, Article II of the Baytown Code of Ordinances regulates itinerant merchants, defined in Sec. 74-26 as anyone who sells, offers, or takes orders for goods or services house-to-house, from a vehicle on city streets, or on any one property for less than an hour. Sec. and bans it outright on Sundays. Sec. 74-33(a) requires merchants to use the front or main entrance and stay on the marked walkway absent an express invitation, and Sec. 74-33(b) is the city's functional no-knock rule: a merchant may not solicit, sell, or take an order at a home when a sign posted on the property or at the entrance is reasonably likely to come to the merchant's attention and indicates that entry or solicitation is forbidden.
Posting controls regardless of whether anyone answers the door. Sec. 74-29 designates the fire chief, police chief, and the directors of engineering, health, and planning and development services as the officials authorized to inspect, cite, and prosecute violations. Sec. 74-30 sets the penalty structure: a conviction draws a fine under Sec. 00 minimum, and every separate sale, offer, or order-taking act in violation is its own offense, so a merchant who ignores a posted sign at several stops in one day faces stacked fines. Sec.
74-31 separately bars standing in a roadway to solicit a ride, contribution, employment, or business from a vehicle's occupant. The exemptions in Sec. 74-28, licensed mobile food vendors under chapter 42, commercial animal sales under chapter 14, and registered participants in city-sponsored or tourism-impact events, do not exempt anyone from the posted-sign rule itself.
Violations & Fines
Ignoring a posted no-soliciting sign or selling outside the 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. window (or on a Sunday) under Sec. 74-32 or 74-33(b) is a criminal offense carrying a $200.00 minimum fine per Sec. 74-30, with each individual sale, offer, or attempted order treated as a separate count. The fire chief, police chief, and the directors of engineering, health, and planning and development services can issue citations and file charges under Sec. 74-29.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Baytown keep an official do-not-knock registry for my address?
What hours can door-to-door sellers legally approach my home?
What happens if a peddler ignores my posted no-soliciting sign?
Do these rules cover charities or licensed food trucks?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Baytown
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