Decatur, AL Soliciting & Door-to-Door: No-Knock Registry (2026)

Chapter 16.5, Article I, governs solicitation that physically occurs at a residence, whether called soliciting, peddling, hawking or canvassing. Under § 16.5-3(a), any occupant can post a reasonably visible and legible sign on or near the main entrance door or gate, or on or near the property line beside the sidewalk leading to the residence. When the notice states No Solicitation or No Trespassing, or words of similar import, all forms of solicitation are prohibited at that residence. Subsection (c) makes it the solicitor's duty to look for the notice on going onto residential premises and, if one exists, to depart immediately and peacefully without trying to attract the attention of the occupant. Section 16.5-1(c) adds that solicitors must not leave literature at a posted residence.

Section 16.5-5 sets the hours. It is unlawful, whether or not the person holds a solicitor's permit, to ring the doorbell, knock, or create any sound calculated to attract the occupant's attention to secure an audience for soliciting on any day before 8:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m., unless the solicitor has the express invitation or permission of the occupant, who must be a competent individual.

Other duties in § 16.5-4 apply at any hour: no solicitor may enter a residence without express invitation, must leave when requested, may not use ruse or deception, and may not continue after the occupant has expressly declined. Under § 16.5-20, a commercial solicitor needs a solicitor's permit and carries it with a photo identification tag, while noncommercial solicitors are exempt from the permit. Permit denials, suspensions and revocations can be appealed in writing to the mayor's appeals officer within fifteen (15) days under § 16.5-24.