Petaluma, CA Soliciting & Door-to-Door: No-Knock Registry (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- PMC § 6.32.020
- Prohibited signs
- "No Peddlers," "No Solicitors," "No Agents"
- Applies to
- Peddlers and solicitors under Ch. 6.32
- Enforcement tool
- Grounds for permit suspension, § 6.32.100(B)
- Suspension to revocation
- 5 days unless hearing requested
Summary
Posting a "No Peddlers," "No Solicitors," or "No Agents" sign at a Petaluma home or business carries legal force: Petaluma Municipal Code Section 6.32.020 makes it unlawful for any peddler or solicitor to ring the bell or knock at a building displaying such a sign, or any sign that otherwise purports to prohibit soliciting there.
6.32.020 Peddling or soliciting on certain premises prohibited. It is unlawful for any peddler or solicitor or any person pretending to be a peddler or solicitor to ring the bell or knock at any building whereon there is printed or affixed or otherwise displayed to public view any sign containing any or all of the following words: "No Peddlers," "No Solicitors" or "No Agents," or which otherwise purports to prohibit peddling or soliciting on such premises.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2931 NCS, passed July 6, 2026).
Full Breakdown
32 defines a peddler broadly as anyone traveling place to place, house to house, or street to street to sell or deliver goods, and a solicitor as anyone doing the same to take orders for future delivery of goods or services, including itinerant photographers and vendors covered elsewhere in the chapter. 020 targets exactly the doorstep encounter residents most want to avoid: it prohibits a peddler, solicitor, or anyone pretending to be one from ringing a bell or knocking at any building that displays a sign reading "No Peddlers," "No Solicitors," or "No Agents," or any sign that otherwise purports to prohibit the activity, regardless of the sign's exact wording.
090, which requires peddlers and solicitors to show their city permit to any citizen who asks and to any police officer, whether or not the officer already recognizes them as licensed. 100(B).
Violations & Fines
Violating the no-knock prohibition is a violation of Chapter 6.32, which under general Petaluma Municipal Code enforcement provisions can support suspension of the violator's peddler or solicitor permit under Section 6.32.100(B) for any violation of the chapter, in addition to whatever citation or misdemeanor penalty applies under the city's general penalty provisions in Title 1. A permit suspension becomes an automatic revocation five days later under Section 6.32.110 unless the permit holder requests a hearing before the city manager.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a "No Soliciting" sign have legal effect in Petaluma?
What can I do if a solicitor knocks despite my posted sign in Petaluma?
Does the no-knock sign rule apply to charities or political canvassers in Petaluma?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Petaluma
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No-Knock Registry in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sonoma County handle no-knock registry.