permits

Missouri Door-to-Door Solicitation Permits

No state solicitor permit and no roofing license in Missouri, but a strict contractor-insurance statute and city rules that barely match.

Missouri runs near the top of recent hail-payout rankings, which makes Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield heavily canvassed roofing markets. The state licenses no roofers and permits no solicitors. What it has is a strict contractor-insurance statute and city rules that differ so much a crew can need two licenses in one jurisdiction and none nearby.

No state solicitor permit, and no state roofing license

There is no statewide registration for door-to-door solicitors; permitting is purely municipal. Roofing is the same: the Division of Professional Registration's list enumerates 58 professions, including electrical contractors, and contains no roofing, general, or home improvement contractor.

Missouri's no-call list does not help at the door. RSMo 407.1095 defines "Telephone solicitation" to cover voice, facsimile, SMS and MMS communications, and 407.1098 prohibits only telephone solicitation to a listed subscriber. A listed homeowner has no statewide protection against a knock.

The cancellation right, and its narrow scope

RSMo 407.700 defines a home solicitation sale as "a consumer credit sale of goods, or services" where the seller personally solicits at the buyer's residence and the agreement is given there. Excluded: real property, a preexisting revolving charge account, and sales after prior negotiations at a fixed establishment.

Two points cut against the usual summary. There is no dollar threshold in sections 407.700 through 407.720, and it reaches only a consumer credit sale, so a cash or check sale is arguably outside it.

Where it applies, RSMo 407.705 gives the buyer until "midnight of the third business day after the day on which the buyer signs," defining business day as "any day except Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays." RSMo 407.710 prescribes a heading "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION" in 10-point boldface type, and 407.710.3 is the sanction: until the seller complies, the buyer may cancel "in any manner and by any means." RSMo 407.720 adds that a seller who performed services before cancellation "is entitled to no compensation."

The federal rule covers the gap. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule at 16 CFR Part 429 applies to a residence sale "which has a purchase price of $25 or more" whether or not credit is involved. The definitions differ: the federal rule counts "Any calendar day except Sunday or any federal holiday," while Missouri excludes Saturday too.

The statute that governs roofing canvassers

RSMo 407.725 is the key provision for a storm-canvassing roofing team. It does four things.

It bans deductible rebates. A contractor "shall not advertise or promise to pay or rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible" as an inducement. The ban covers any allowance, any discount against fees, or paying the insured "any form of compensation, gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee" or other thing of value "for any reason."

It creates a five-business-day cancellation right, separate from the three-day one. The insured may cancel "prior to midnight on the fifth business day after" written notice from the insurer that all or part of the claim is not covered. The trigger is that notice, not signing.

It requires disclosures before contracting: a statement "in boldface type of a minimum size of ten points" explaining that right, plus a duplicate form captioned "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION," attached "but easily detachable."

It bans claim negotiation. A contractor "shall not represent or negotiate, or offer or advertise to represent or negotiate" on the owner's behalf on any insurance claim for roof or other exterior work. That rules out the "we will handle the insurance company for you" pitch.

Section 407.725.7 makes any violation "an unfair practice" under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

Missouri's post-disaster rule is a regulation rather than a statute. 15 CSR 60-8.030, promulgated by the Attorney General under MMPA authority, makes it an unfair practice to "Charge within a disaster area an excessive price for any necessity," and the definitions reach roofers, covering "all materials and services related to... construction, repair, and transportation."

City by city

Kansas City: a peddler license, no hours, the broadest sign rule. Section 40-133 bars peddling goods "from house to house, without first having procured a license therefor," issued by the commissioner of revenue at $62.50 a year on foot or $32.00 per vehicle. There is no solicitor category and no hours rule. What it has is section 50-172: "No person shall solicit anything or any action from any person at property" posted at the front door with "No Solicitation," "No Solicitors" or similar. It is not limited to commercial sales and applies licensed or not.

St. Louis City: two licenses. Revised Code section 8.06.452 covers anyone travelling place to place taking orders "for service to be furnished or performed in the future," issued by the License Collector at "One dollar per day, ten dollars per month, fifteen dollars per year," plus a $1,000 bond. Separately, 8.12A.030 requires a contractor license whose definition expressly enumerates "roofing contractors." No hours restriction, and the 11.18.190 sign rule covers handbills only. One trap: Chapter 8.84, titled "SOLICITATIONS," is limited by 8.84.010.B to conduct "on the streets, sidewalks or public rights-of-way" for a charitable appeal, so its $35 fee and hours do not reach commercial sales.

St. Louis County: no permit, because the licensing sections were repealed. SLCRO Chapter 804 was rewritten in 2022 and now runs only to section 804.060, with "804.070 through 804.260 - Reserved." Third-party sites still assert a county license; the text contradicts them. Section 804.040 is titled "Hours and Manner of Solicitation" and contains no curfew, which is why you read text rather than headings. Its sign rule is flexible: 804.040(4) lets an owner bar entry "during specified hours."

Springfield: the solicitation chapter probably does not reach you. Chapter 86, "PUBLIC SOLICITATIONS," is defined at section 86-1 by the purpose of the appeal: sales on a "plea that such solicitation or sale is for charitable, educational, fraternal, civic, patriotic, religious or philanthropic purposes." A commercial roofing pitch carries no such plea, so 86-7's 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. curfew and 86-6's posted-premises rule both apply only to someone "conducting a public solicitation." Commercial work falls under Chapter 70.

Columbia: permit required, cleanly. Section 13-226 defines a canvasser or solicitor as anyone travelling house to house taking orders for "services to be furnished or performed in the future," and 13-227(a) makes it unlawful without a permit from the business license administrator. Section 13-228(b) sets "a fee of twenty dollars ($20.00)" plus the records check; the city's page lists $20 plus $17. No hours restriction. Section 16-161(b) makes a posted "No Soliciting" sign "prima facie evidence" that the solicitor was not invited.

Lee's Summit: the definitions are inverted. Section 20-2 makes "Peddler" the for-profit category, uninvited contact "for the primary purpose of attempting to sell a good or service, for profit," while "Solicitor" means someone seeking a donation. A roofing rep here is a peddler. Section 20-26 requires an identification card from the Chief of Police; the city's page states "Cost is $50.00" for 180 days. Hours, section 20-5: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekends.

Independence: the one true do-not-knock list. Chapter 5, Article 5 section 5.05.003.A makes it unlawful to canvass, solicit or peddle "without first obtaining a license." Hours under 5.05.008.D: activities are "limited to the hours between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m." The same subsection adds a rule we found nowhere else: "No peddler or solicitor shall return to the same occupied residence a second time in less than six months" unless previously authorized. Section 5.05.010 creates the registry: "a copy is provided with each license issued," and "No card holder may enter the private property nor contact any person so listed."

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. Noncommercial canvassing differs: 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," the basis of every sign rule above, and Watchtower v. Stratton held in 2002 that a permit scheme violated the First Amendment "as it applies to religious proselytizing."

Checklist

No state permit and no state roofing license. Check the city, and the county chapter in unincorporated St. Louis County.
Permits in St. Louis City (two), Columbia, Lee's Summit and Independence, plus a Kansas City peddler license. None in St. Louis County.
Hours: Independence 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Lee's Summit 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays. Others set none.
Independence's no-call list and six-month return rule.
Brief every rep on RSMo 407.725: no deductible rebate, no claim negotiation, the five-day disclosure.
After a declared disaster, 15 CSR 60-8.030 caps prices on construction and repair.

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