permits

Texas Door-to-Door Solicitation Permits

Houston and Austin require no solicitor permit. Dallas, San Antonio and Fort Worth do. Plus the deductible rule that is criminal in Texas.

Texas is the largest door-to-door market in the country for roofing and solar, leading most hail-payout and solar-installation rankings.

The rules are not what the trade assumes. There is no state solicitor permit and no state roofing license. The two largest cities require no door-to-door permit. Dallas, San Antonio and Fort Worth do. And two suburbs widely cited as strict have dropped theirs.

No state permit, no state roofing license

Texas has no statewide solicitor, peddler or transient-vendor registration. Local Government Code Chapter 215 delegates it: section 215.031 lets a municipality "license, tax, suppress, prevent, or otherwise regulate" hawkers and peddlers, and section 215.033 adds that a license "may not be issued for more than one year."

Roofing is the same. The House committee analysis for C.S.H.B. 3344 (2025) states that "Texas does not currently require a state-issued license for reroofing contractors." That bill would have put reroofing contractors under TDLR; it never got a floor vote. A seller of taxable items needs a Comptroller sales tax permit, which carries no fee. There is no statewide do-not-knock registry.

The cancellation right: Business and Commerce Code Chapter 601

Chapter 601 is titled "Cancellation of Certain Consumer Transactions," which is part of why it gets miscited. Section 601.002(a) requires three things: the merchant "engages in a personal solicitation of a sale" away from its place of business; the consumer's agreement is given there; and the consideration "exceeds $25" for goods or services, or "exceeds $100" for real property. Either may be "payable in installments or in cash," so unlike Colorado and Missouri, Texas does not restrict the right to credit sales.

Section 601.051 allows cancellation "not later than midnight of the third business day after the date the consumer signs." Section 601.052 requires a receipt at execution, in the language of the oral sales presentation, with a statement near the signature space "in boldfaced type of a minimum size of 10 points." Section 601.053 requires a "notice of cancellation form in duplicate," attached and "easily detachable." Section 601.054 is a safe harbor: using the FTC cooling-off forms "constitutes compliance."

Three duties people forget. Section 601.152 makes it a violation to "fail to inform the consumer orally of the right to cancel." Section 601.101 denies compensation for services performed under a canceled transaction. And section 601.201 provides that a sale violating section 601.053(b) or Subchapter D "is void."

What a Texas roofer may not say

Two state limits bind every roofing canvasser, and both get violated under storm-week pressure.

No deductible waiving. Business and Commerce Code section 27.02 makes it an offense to advertise or promise, or to provide goods or services knowing they will be paid from insurance proceeds, where the seller will without the insurer's consent "pay, waive, absorb, or otherwise decline to charge or collect the amount of the insured's deductible," or "in any other manner assist the insured in avoiding monetary payment" of it. Section 27.02(d): "An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor." Section 27.02(b) requires, on contracts of $1,000 or more, a notice in "at least 12-point boldfaced type."

No adjusting. The Texas Department of Insurance's page, Roofing and insurance: Know the law, states that "Texas doesn't allow a roofer or contractor to act as a public insurance adjuster on insurance claims if they're also doing the work," and lists "Offering to negotiate claim settlements or file a claim for the policyholder" as prohibited.

City by city

Houston: no citywide door-to-door permit. Houston's code has no peddler or solicitor chapter. Chapter 22, Street Vendors, defines a street vendor at section 22-1 as someone selling from "a truck, a cart, or other vehicle on non-residential property," so it does not reach residential foot solicitation. Aggregator sites miscite Houston Chapter 38 as the solicitor chapter. Chapter 38 is Railroads. There is no residential curfew and no sign provision in the code.

Dallas: permit required, with restrictive hours. City Code Chapter 42, "Home Solicitations," section 42-7(a) makes it an offense to engage in a home solicitation "without a valid certificate of registration," and section 42-2(8) defines home solicitation as "the business of soliciting, selling, or taking orders for goods or services." Issued by the chief of police at "a nonrefundable registration fee of $50," expiring one year after issuance, per Dallas PD.

Hours, section 42-13(a): an offense to solicit "before 9:00 a.m. or after sunset of any day, Monday through Saturday," at any time on a Sunday, or on ten enumerated holidays. Section 42-13(d) requires the front entrance. Section 42-14 requires departure where a weatherproof sign reads "NO SOLICITORS OR HANDBILLS" or similar, and the solicitor "shall first examine the premises."

San Antonio: license required. Chapter 16, Article IX section 16-227 makes it "unlawful for any person to engage in the business of peddler or canvasser of any tangible property without having first secured a license." Section 16-226 defines a canvasser, which "includes solicitor," as one who "makes retail sales for future delivery of tangible property from house to house." Application goes to the city treasurer "at least five (5) days prior to the date of the initial contemplated sale," then to the chief of police. Fees, section 16-232(a): foot peddler $120.00, peddler using a vehicle $180.00, canvasser $60.00, each expiring one year from issue. Hours, section 16-239(a): nothing "door-to-door at private residences between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m." Section 16-239(b) adds a rehash limit worth planning around: no more than "three times within any calendar month" on the same privately owned real property. San Antonio has no no-soliciting sign provision, which is unusual.

One honest caveat: Article IX is keyed to "tangible property," and whether a contractor taking orders for a roof replacement is a "canvasser" is a genuine question the text does not resolve. Ask the city treasurer.

Austin: no commercial door-to-door permit. There is no peddler, solicitor or canvasser permit in the city code. The only residential door curfew is section 9-4-22: "A person commits an offense if the person solicits contributions between 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. by going to the door of a residence." Read it carefully, it says contributions. Austin has no no-soliciting sign provision. Aggregator claims that Austin requires solicitor registration appear contaminated by coverage of Austin, Minnesota.

Fort Worth: registration required, and free. Chapter 20, Article IV, Division 1, "Door-to-Door Vendors," section 20-143 makes it "unlawful for a door-to-door vendor without first registering with the city and obtaining a registration certificate," which "must be carried by the vendor." Section 20-142 covers travelling door to door "offering for sale, or soliciting orders for future delivery, of food, goods, services or merchandise." The notable term: "No registration fee shall be charged." Registration runs through the Development Services Department. Hours, section 20-145(c): nothing at a residence "before 9:00 a.m. and after 7:00 p.m. Central Standard Time and after 8:00 p.m. during Daylight Savings Time." Section 20-145(a) bars solicitation at any property "that has a 'No Soliciting' or 'No Trespassing' sign posted," and 20-145(b) extends it to anyone "verbally informed" that solicitation is not allowed.

Plano and Frisco: both dropped their permits. This cuts against the folklore about strict North Texas suburbs. Plano repealed its solicitor article in 2021, and its mechanism is now a sign rule: section 11-143 makes it unlawful "to go upon any residential premises uninvited and ring the doorbell, knock upon the door or create any sound if there is a no trespass(ing) sign." Frisco's ordinance remains on the books, requiring a $50 police-issued permit, but the city's page states the requirement was suspended in August 2016. We found no suspending ordinance, only the city's statement, so confirm first.

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," the authority behind the sign rules above. And in Watchtower v. Village of 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. A Comptroller sales tax permit if you sell taxable items.
Permits in Dallas, San Antonio and Fort Worth. None in Houston or Austin.
Hours: Dallas 9 a.m. to sunset, no Sundays or holidays. San Antonio 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fort Worth 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
San Antonio's three-visits-per-month limit per property.
Chapter 601 at every signature: the boldface statement, the detachable notice, the oral notice.
Brief every rep on section 27.02 and the TDI adjusting rule.

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