Chelan County, WA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: No-Knock Registry (2026)

Chapter 4.16 of the Chelan County Code, the county's litter control chapter, gives unincorporated-area residents a direct legal tool against unwanted door-to-door handbills, flyers and advertising: § 4.16.140 makes it unlawful to throw, deposit or distribute any commercial or noncommercial handbill on a private residence or property once the occupant has posted a notice such as 'No Trespassing,' 'No Peddlers or Agents,' or 'No Advertisement,' or any similar sign showing they don't want to be disturbed. The statute doesn't require a posted sign at all: a resident who simply tells anyone directly not to leave handbills gets the identical protection under the same sentence.

The companion section, § 4.16.150, extends a related but separate rule to inhabited residences generally: even without a posted sign, a handbill may be left only by handing it directly to the owner, occupant or another person present, unless the resident hasn't objected and the handbill is secured so it won't blow around the property; mail delivered by the United States Postal Service and properly secured newspapers are exempt from both sections. Enforcement runs through any deputy sheriff, fire department, building department or health department employee, per § 4.16.180, and enforcement officers can issue citations directly.

Violating either handbill section, along with the rest of Chapter 4.16's litter rules covering receptacle placement, sidewalk sweeping and vehicle litter, is a misdemeanor under § 4.16.220, carrying up to ninety days in the county jail or a fine of up to two hundred fifty dollars. The chapter traces its authority to a 1974 county resolution implementing Washington's statewide litter control program.