Compliance
City rules for street teams.
Read this first. This page summarizes public sources and our own operating rules. It is not legal advice, it has not been verified against current municipal codes, and rules change. Anyone running a campaign is responsible for their own content and permissions. Where we could not confirm a rule we say so.
Rules we follow everywhere
- Door hangers go on the door or handle only. Never in, on or through a mailbox, its flag or its post (18 U.S.C. 1725, the federal mailbox rule).
- Hand a flyer to a willing person. Never throw, leave in piles, or put under windshield wipers.
- Skip any address with a No Soliciting or No Trespassing sign, gated communities and apartment interiors without written permission.
- Crew pick up anything dropped, and carry a trash bag.
- Stop and leave when a property owner, police officer or city official asks.
- No postering on poles, walls, utility boxes, trees or transit shelters. No chalk or stickers on public property.
- No alcohol, tobacco, vape or cannabis sampling through this platform.
By city
Denver
Denver: pull the city code before launch. We follow the strict national pattern until then.
- We have not yet pulled Denver's handbill and sidewalk text from the Denver Revised Municipal Code (Chapters 3, 38 and 39 are the starting points).
- Until counsel confirms, crew hand flyers only to willing people, leave nothing on vehicles or fixtures, and clean up litter.
- Denver's local minimum wage is higher than the state's, and crew are paid above it as W-2 employees.
Still to confirm: Handbill, sign-walker and sidewalk sampling rules in the DRMC; Permit needs for stationary activity on the 16th Street Mall.
Status: not yet verified by counsel.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas: keep moving, stay off the Strip bridges, and clean up every 15 minutes.
- Clark County adopted a 2012 litter ordinance that makes handbillers responsible for litter within 25 feet and for cleanup about every 15 minutes (secondary news sources). Enforcement status is unverified.
- Courts struck down earlier Strip handbill bans in the late 1990s (secondary sources), so hand-to-hand flyering on public sidewalks is generally protected speech, but the manner can be regulated.
- A 2024 ordinance created pedestrian flow zones on Strip bridges and up to 20 feet around them, with fines up to $1,000 and/or jail (secondary source, final text not verified). Our crew never stop on or near the bridges.
Still to confirm: Current Clark County Code text on handbills and the flow zones; City of Las Vegas downtown rules.
Status: not yet verified by counsel.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles: handbills are protected speech, but posting on fixtures is not. Crew are W-2 here.
- U.S. Supreme Court cases (Schneider 1939, Talley 1960) struck LA's blanket handbill ban and its anonymous-handbill rule. Some LA code sections may still require a name and address on handbills (unverified).
- Posting handbills or signs on public poles and fixtures is reported to be prohibited. We never do it.
- Several California cities ban sign spinners. We check the exact city before any sign-walker booking.
- California's ABC test means crew are W-2 employees of Air Fresh Marketing.
Still to confirm: LAMC 28.04, 28.08 and 56.08 current text; Whether the name-and-address rule can be enforced against commercial handbills.
Status: not yet verified by counsel.
New York
New York City: hand-to-hand is allowed in general, litter fines are real, no posting on public property.
- NYC repealed the advertising-matter distribution subsection of Admin Code 16-118 in 2016 (Local Law 75). Littering penalties remain at $75 for a first offense, rising to $250 to $350 and $350 to $450.
- Posting handbills or signs on public property is reported to be prohibited, each item a separate violation (secondary source).
- A-frame and sandwich signs can draw sidewalk fines. We do not place them.
Still to confirm: Current Admin Code 16-118 and DSNY rules; Sidewalk sign and table permit requirements.
Status: not yet verified by counsel.
Austin
Austin: sign code and handbill rules not yet pulled. Follow the national pattern until counsel confirms.
- We could not retrieve Austin's handbill and sidewalk distribution rules. Austin's sign code is Chapter 25-10 of the City Code.
- Other Texas cities restrict handbills on parked vehicles and at addresses with a no-solicitation sign. We follow those rules everywhere.
- Texas allows contractor status in some cases, but Sidewalk Crew crew are W-2 employees of Air Fresh Marketing by design.
Still to confirm: Austin Code Title 9 and Chapter 25-10 text; Texas state rules on handbills.
Status: not yet verified by counsel.
Other cities: bookable, with ops reviewing local rules before accepting a job.