Know Your Rights: Canvassing

Canvassing is an organized and systematic effort to speak directly to individuals, often by going from home to home. Canvassing is a form of charitable, or non-commercial, soliciting, and it is common among political campaigns, grassroots fundraising, community-awareness efforts, and membership drives.  

Commercial vs. Non-commercial Solicitation 

Laws governing solicitation regularly distinguish between commercial solicitation by businesses and non-commercial solicitation by religious, political, or charitable groups.  

For example, get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts—which help people register to vote, encourage voting, and explain how to vote—are a regularly occurring form of non-commercial solicitation. Non-commercial solicitation also includes efforts to inform voters about a particular political candidate.  

In contrast, going door-to-door to entice homeowners to hire a company to install new windows is a form of commercial solicitation.  

Yes. Canvassing is a way to convey ideas, messages, and information. It is an important tool in our democracy and is protected as speech under the First Amendment.  

Nevertheless, local governments may still regulate First Amendment activities, including canvassing, under certain conditions. To constitutionally place restrictions on First Amendment activities like canvassing the municipality’s restrictions must be content-neutral, serve a legitimate government interest, and leave open ample alternative channels of communication.  

See Ass’n of Com’y Orgs. For Reform Now v. City of Dearborn, 696 F.Supp. 268, 272 (E.D. Mich. 1988). 

While cities can place reasonable restrictions on all forms of solicitation, the Supreme Court has emphasized the importance of door-to-door canvassing in our constitutional tradition of free and open discussion. 

No. Permits are only required for commercial soliciting— people who are going door-to-door to sell services or goods for a business.  

In Watchtower Bible, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that ordinances requiring canvassers to apply for and obtain a permit before door-to-door canvassing violates the First amendment. Despite this precedent, municipalities have, on occasion, continued to pass such ordinances, and law enforcement may still enforce them if they go unnoticed and unchallenged.  

If a public official tells you that you need to obtain a permit before canvassing, or if you believe that a city ordinance may require a permit before canvassing within city limits, please contact ACLU-TN or an attorney.   

While canvassing is constitutionally protected speech, it is best to comply with any orders from a police officer or public official and stop canvassing the area to avoid arrest and detention.  

Make note of the details of the interaction (who, what, when, where, why) and contact the ACLU of Tennessee about the incident by filling out our legal intake form.  

While the Supreme Court has not directly addressed the constitutionality of local requirements for background checks, photos, waiting periods, and “good moral character,” these requirements are “constitutionally suspect” because the Supreme Court has stated that the First Amendment guarantees the right to anonymous speech, and background checks and other identification requirements violate this principle. 

See McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm’n, 514 U.S. 334, 115 S.Ct. 1511 (1995).  

While neither the Supreme Court nor any other federal court has ever formally ruled on the hours of the day that canvassers must be allowed to knock on doors, ordinances restricting canvassing in the early evening, generally before 9:00 p.m., have been invalidated as unconstitutional.  

Generally, the best times to canvass tend to be weekend mornings and early evenings (before sunset) on weekdays. For your own safety it is best to avoid canvassing after dark.   

See Ohio Citizen Action v. City of Englewood, 671 F.3d at 474 

Do not canvass at houses that have “No Solicitation” signs. The homeowner has expressed that they do not consent to either commercial or non-commercial solicitation, and you could be cited for trespass and/or fined under a local ordinance.  

If you are planning to canvass in a place that has a "No Knock" registry, check the local laws to see what types of solicitation are prohibited.