permits

Colorado Door-to-Door Solicitation Permits

No state roofing license and no state solicitor permit in Colorado, but a dedicated roofing statute and cities that disagree with each other.

Colorado is one of the most canvassed roofing markets in the country, and it has a statute written specifically for residential roofing after a hailstorm. It has no state roofing license and no state solicitor permit, so the permit question is city by city. The cities genuinely disagree.

No state roofing license

Colorado's Department of Regulatory Agencies says it plainly on its home and repair page: "Not all occupations are licensed, such as roofers and general contractors." The same page adds that "laws may exist in your county that provide consumer protections, so be sure to check with your city."

The cancellation right, and a citation correction

Most guides get this wrong. There is no Colorado Home Solicitation Sales Act, and C.R.S. 6-1-103, constantly cited for it, is titled "Attorney general and district attorneys concurrently responsible for enforcement."

The real provisions are C.R.S. 5-3-401 through 5-3-405, inside the Uniform Consumer Credit Code. Section 5-3-401 covers "a consumer credit sale of goods or services" where the seller "personally solicits the sale" and the agreement "is given to the seller at a residence." Section 5-3-402(1) gives the buyer until "midnight of the third business day" after signing. Rather than prescribing a form, section 5-3-403(2) says the statement "shall comply with any notice of cancellation or a similar requirement" of any FTC rule. Section 5-3-403(3) is the sanction: absent compliance the buyer may cancel "in any manner and by any means," and that right "shall expire three years after the date of the consummation." Section 5-3-405(3) adds that on cancellation "the seller is not entitled to compensation for any services" performed.

Two scope points. There is no $25 threshold in Colorado's statute; the only dollar figure in scope is a ceiling, since C.R.S. 5-1-301(11)(a)(V) requires that "the amount financed does not exceed seventy-five thousand dollars." And Part 4 reaches only a consumer credit sale, requiring the debt to be "payable in installments or a finance charge is made." A sale paid in full at signing is not a home solicitation sale under Colorado law.

The familiar $25 is federal. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule at 16 CFR Part 429 covers a residence sale "which has a purchase price of $25 or more," with cancellation until "midnight of the third business day." That rule governs a cash roofing sale here.

The roofing statute: SB 12-038

C.R.S. Article 22 of Title 6, sections 6-22-101 through 6-22-105, came from SB 12-038 in 2012. Four things matter.

Scope. Section 6-22-102 covers detached one- and two-family dwellings, excluding new construction and work where the "compensation is one thousand dollars or less per contract."

The contract and the trust disclosure. Section 6-22-103(1) requires a signed contract stating scope, dates, approximate cost "based on damages known at the time," the contractor's address and insurer, and a "rescission clause" letting the owner "obtain a full refund of any deposit within seventy-two hours." Section 6-22-103(2) requires, on the face of the contract in bold-faced type, that the contractor "shall hold in trust any payment from the property owner" until it has "delivered roofing materials at the residential property site" or done most of the work.

Cancellation on insurance denial. Section 6-22-104(1)(a) lets the owner rescind within "seventy-two hours after the property owner receives written notice" from the insurer that the claim "is denied in whole or in part." The trigger is the owner's receipt, not the insurer's internal date. An exception covers supplemental work whose damage "could not have been reasonably foreseen."

No deductible rebates, no adjusting. Section 6-22-105(1): a contractor paid from insurance proceeds "shall not advertise or promise to pay, waive, or rebate" any deductible. On violation the insurer "is not obligated to consider the estimate," and the owner or insurer may sue. Section 6-22-105(3): a roofing contractor "shall not claim to be or act as a public insurance adjuster."

Article 22 carries no licensing requirement and no criminal penalty. Its teeth are the lost estimate and a private action.

City by city

Denver: license required. Chapter 47, Article II section 47-26(a) makes it a violation "to peddle goods, merchandise or services without first obtaining a license," and 47-16(a) covers "selling from door-to-door," including services. Issued by the manager of licensing and consumer protection: $25.00 application plus a $50.00 annual license under section 32-101. Hours, section 47-18(d): nothing at residences "from one-half hour after sunset until 8:00 a.m. the next day." Section 47-18(c) bars soliciting where a sign indicates that "such solicitation of business is not desired or is prohibited." No registry.

Fort Collins: permit required, with a real do-not-knock list. Chapter 15, Article IV, Division 1 section 15-110(a) requires a commercial solicitor to "obtain a permit from the Financial Officer and pay the permit fee." Noncommercial solicitation needs none. The city's page publishes "$200 for up to four solicitors; $300 for five or more." Hours, section 15-118: all solicitation must be completed "between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and sunset," the tightest curfew in the state. Section 15-108 bars entry where a "No Solicitation" or "No Trespassing" sign is posted and "shall apply to all solicitation," including religious and political activity. Section 15-109 adds a list binding on commercial solicitors: registration through the city's form takes effect thirty calendar days after receipt, and "each permit holder is responsible for obtaining and reviewing the list."

Aurora: license required, fee not published. Chapter 86, Article IV, Division 4 section 86-227(a) bars any door-to-door seller from operating "without a valid door-to-door seller's license," and 86-227(b) requires each individual to hold an identification card. Section 86-233 leaves fees to the director; no amount appears in the code. Section 86-229 requires a bond of "$1,000.00 times the number of individuals" selling at once. Two traps: the application must state "the specific route or routes" to be worked, and the ID card "expire[s] 90 days from the date of issuance" and "shall not be subject to renewal." Division 4 sets no hours and no sign rule.

Lakewood: no permit, sign rule only. Chapter 5.28 is one section with no licensing provision. Section 5.28.010 gives every resident, "including but not limited to apartments, condominium units and detached residences," the right to post notice that "peddlers, solicitors and hawkers shall not enter the premises." Going "in or upon any place so posted without previous invitation" to solicit anything of value "is guilty of an unlawful act."

Castle Rock: registration required, with town no-knock stickers. Chapter 5.04 section 5.04.020: "No person shall act as a solicitor within the Town without first registering," while "Canvassers are not required to register but may do so." Fees: "Canvasser: no fee. Solicitor: $35.00," capped at one year. There is no hours restriction on solicitors; section 5.04.070(C) limits only flyers to "between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m." Section 5.04.060 provides that "the Town shall make available 'No Knock' stickers," and 5.04.080(A)(1) bars entry where any sign or sticker is displayed, "including but not limited to a Town-issued 'No knock' sticker or a 'No soliciting' sign." Section 5.04.080(B) also reaches a company that would "instruct, direct, command, order, organize or otherwise arrange" a violation.

Colorado Springs and Centennial: no solicitor permit. The Colorado Springs City Clerk's licensing page enumerates the businesses requiring a license and door-to-door sales is not among them. Centennial's business licensing chapter has no solicitation article, sign ordinance or registry.

One honest gap: Colorado Springs City Code section 9.2.111, "Solicitation Prohibited," exists, and the search index indicates it covers aggressive solicitation and posted signs. The city's code host blocked every route we tried, and we will not paraphrase a provision we could not read. Read it yourself or ask the City Attorney, and do not trust third-party summaries, including ours.

The constitutional backdrop

A "Green River ordinance," named for the Wyoming town that adopted the first in 1931, bans uninvited commercial door-to-door solicitation outright, and the Supreme Court upheld a Louisiana version in Breard v. Alexandria in 1951. Martin v. City of Struthers struck down a blanket ban in 1943 while noting that "A city can punish those who call at a home in defiance of the previously expressed will of the occupant." And in Watchtower v. Stratton the Court held in 2002 that a canvassing permit requirement violated the First Amendment "as it applies to religious proselytizing."

Checklist

No state permit and no state roofing license. Check each city.
Permits in Denver, Aurora, Fort Collins and Castle Rock. None in Colorado Springs, Lakewood or Centennial.
Hours: Fort Collins 9 a.m. to sunset, Denver 8 a.m. to half an hour past sunset. The others set none.
Fort Collins' no-solicitation list and Castle Rock's no-knock stickers.
Aurora's license needs routes up front; the ID card expires at 90 days.
Brief every rep on Article 22: the 72-hour denial rescission, the bold trust disclosure, no deductible rebate, no adjusting.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current rule with the city or county before you knock.