York County, SC Soliciting & Door-to-Door: No-Knock Registry (2026)
Key Facts
- No do-not-knock registry
- South Carolina has none statewide
- Local rule
- §131.02(D) bars soliciting past a posted sign
- State backstop
- S.C. Code §16-11-620, entering after warning
- Maximum penalty
- $200 fine or 30 days jail
- Court
- Magistrate's or municipal court
- Cumulative law
- Adds to §16-11-600 posted-trespass statute
Summary
South Carolina has no do-not-knock registry, but state law makes it a crime to keep soliciting a home after the resident has warned the solicitor off. S.C. Code § 16-11-620 punishes anyone who enters or stays on a property after being told to leave, and York County's own § 131.02(D) makes soliciting unlawful wherever a 'No Trespassing,' 'No Peddlers' or 'No Solicitors' sign is posted.
Any person who, without legal cause or good excuse, enters into the dwelling house, place of business, or on the premises of another person after having been warned not to do so or any person who, having entered into the dwelling house, place of business, or on the premises of another person without having been warned fails and refuses, without good cause or good excuse, to leave immediately upon being ordered or requested to do so by the person in possession or his agent or representative shall, on conviction, be fined not more than two hundred dollars or be imprisoned for not more than thirty days. All municipal courts of this State as well as those of magistrates may try and determine criminal cases involving violations of this section occurring within the respective limits of such municipalities and magisterial districts. All peace officers of the State and its subdivisions shall enforce the provisions hereof within their respective jurisdictions. The provisions of this section shall be construed as being in addition to, and not as superseding, any other statutes of the State relating to trespass or entry on lands of another.
Full Breakdown
York County has not created a municipal do-not-knock registry for the unincorporated county. Instead, two layers of law do that job. 02(D) of the County Code states it is unlawful to engage in soliciting on any property where a sign is posted reading 'No Trespassing,' 'No Peddlers,' 'No Solicitors,' 'No Buskers,' or words of similar import, meaning a posted sign alone converts further knocking into a code violation. C. Code § 16-11-620 makes it a crime for anyone to enter a dwelling, place of business, or premises after being warned not to, or to refuse to leave immediately once the person in possession orders them off, whether or not a sign was posted first.
A verbal warning at the door works exactly like a sign: once given, any return visit or refusal to leave is chargeable. The violation is a misdemeanor triable in magistrate's court for the unincorporated county or in municipal court if it occurs inside a city, carrying a fine of up to $200 or up to 30 days in jail. Peace officers throughout the state, including York County Sheriff's deputies, are directed to enforce the statute within their jurisdictions, and the law is explicitly cumulative: it adds to, rather than replaces, South Carolina's other trespass statutes such as § 16-11-600's posted-notice trespass law.
Residents who want the strongest protection should post a visible sign, since it creates the 'warning' the statute requires without having to prove a verbal exchange happened.
Violations & Fines
Ignoring a posted no-soliciting sign or a verbal warning to leave is a misdemeanor under S.C. Code § 16-11-620, punishable by a fine of up to $200, imprisonment for up to 30 days, or both. Cases are heard in magistrate's court for the unincorporated county or municipal court inside a city. The charge stacks with York County's own § 131.02(D) sign violation and with the state's broader posted-land trespass law, § 16-11-600.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a do-not-knock list in York County?
Does a 'No Soliciting' sign have legal force in York County?
What if I only verbally tell a solicitor not to come back?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in York County
Compare York County to another location·View the South Carolina soliciting & door-to-door overview
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