What is solicitation?

What Solicitation Means

Solicitation is the act of requesting, urging, or seeking to obtain something from another person. The term applies across multiple areas of life, from charitable fundraising and business transactions to criminal law. Understanding what solicitation means in different contexts is essential because the same word can carry vastly different consequences depending on how and where it is used.

The word traces back to roughly 1513 and derives from the Latin sollicitare, meaning to disturb or to urge. At its core, solicitation always involves one party actively reaching out to another with a specific request or proposal. The nature of that request determines whether the solicitation is perfectly legal, regulated, or criminal.

Merriam-Webster also identifies a secondary, more literary meaning: a quality or force that moves or draws someone toward a particular action, essentially an incitement or allurement. This broader sense appears occasionally in formal writing but is far less common in everyday legal or business usage.

Types of Solicitation

Solicitation takes many forms, and the legal treatment of each varies significantly. Some types are routine parts of daily commerce, while others are serious criminal offenses. Below is an overview of the major categories.

Charitable Solicitation

Door-to-door fundraising, mail campaigns, and telephone calls requesting donations are among the most familiar forms of solicitation. Most states require nonprofit organizations to register before soliciting donations from the public. These regulations exist to protect consumers from fraudulent charities.

Commercial and Marketing Solicitation

Businesses routinely solicit customers through email campaigns, telemarketing, direct mail, and door-to-door sales. Federal laws such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the CAN-SPAM Act regulate how and when companies can contact consumers. Violating these rules can result in substantial fines.

Mail solicitations for credit cards alone have reached billions of pieces annually, illustrating just how pervasive this form of outreach has become in the modern economy.

Investment Solicitation

In finance, an offer or solicitation refers to the act of presenting investment products to potential buyers. Securities laws tightly govern these communications. Disclaimers such as "this is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any investment products" are common in financial literature because improper solicitation can violate SEC regulations.

Solicitation in Criminal Law

In criminal law, solicitation is classified as an inchoate offense, meaning the crime is complete the moment the request is made, regardless of whether the solicited crime is ever carried out. A person commits criminal solicitation by requesting, encouraging, or commanding another person to engage in criminal conduct with the intent that the crime be performed.

The critical distinction between criminal solicitation and other inchoate offenses like attempt or conspiracy is that solicitation requires no agreement from the other party. If a person asks a hitman to commit murder and the hitman refuses, the person who made the request has still committed the crime of solicitation.

Solicitation of Prostitution

One of the most commonly prosecuted forms of solicitation involves prostitution. This offense covers both offering sexual services for money and agreeing to pay for them. In most U.S. jurisdictions, solicitation of prostitution is charged as a misdemeanor, though repeat offenses or aggravating circumstances can elevate it to a felony.

Law enforcement agencies frequently conduct sting operations targeting this type of solicitation. In a typical operation, undercover officers pose as either buyers or sellers, and individuals who agree to exchange money for sex are arrested on the spot.

Solicitation of Serious Crimes

Soliciting someone to commit a violent crime such as murder, assault, kidnapping, or arson carries far more severe consequences. In many states and under federal law, solicitation of murder is treated as a felony that can carry penalties nearly as harsh as the underlying crime itself.

The Model Penal Code, which has influenced criminal statutes across the United States, treats solicitation as an offense of the same grade as the most serious crime solicited. This means asking someone to commit a first-degree felony can itself be charged as a first-degree felony in some jurisdictions.

Legal Elements of Criminal Solicitation

To secure a conviction for criminal solicitation, prosecutors must prove specific elements beyond a reasonable doubt. While exact requirements vary by jurisdiction, most statutes share a common framework rooted in the Model Penal Code.

The Communication Requirement

The solicitation must involve some form of communication directed at another person. This can be verbal, written, electronic, or even gestural. The communication must clearly convey a request, command, encouragement, or inducement to commit a criminal act.

Importantly, the communication does not need to reach its intended recipient for the crime to be complete under some statutes. For example, if a person mails a letter soliciting a crime but the letter is intercepted, certain jurisdictions still consider the solicitation complete.

Specific Intent

The defendant must have acted with the specific intent that the other person actually commit the crime. Joking, hypothetical discussions, or idle talk without genuine intent generally do not meet this standard. However, proving intent often comes down to the circumstances surrounding the communication.

Common Defenses to Solicitation Charges

Several legal defenses can be raised against solicitation charges. The availability and effectiveness of these defenses depend on the jurisdiction and the specific facts of the case.

Entrapment

Entrapment occurs when law enforcement officers induce a person to commit a crime they would not have otherwise committed. This defense is frequently raised in prostitution sting operations. To succeed, the defendant must show that the idea and motivation for the crime originated with the government, not with the defendant.

Renunciation

Some jurisdictions recognize voluntary renunciation as a defense. Under the Model Penal Code, a defendant may avoid liability if they completely and voluntarily abandoned the criminal purpose and took steps to prevent the crime from occurring. Simply changing one's mind without taking affirmative preventive action is generally insufficient.

First Amendment Considerations

The line between protected free speech and criminal solicitation can be thin. Advocating for illegal conduct in the abstract is generally protected by the First Amendment. However, speech that is directed at inciting or producing imminent lawless action, and is likely to produce such action, falls outside constitutional protection under the standard established in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969).

Penalties for Solicitation

Penalties for solicitation vary widely depending on the type of crime solicited, the jurisdiction, and the defendant's criminal history. In general, solicitation of more serious crimes carries more severe punishment.

Collateral Consequences

Beyond fines and imprisonment, a solicitation conviction can carry lasting collateral consequences. These may include a permanent criminal record, difficulty finding employment, loss of professional licenses, immigration consequences for non-citizens, and mandatory sex offender registration for solicitation involving minors.

Even misdemeanor solicitation convictions can appear on background checks and affect housing applications, security clearances, and professional standing.

Solicitation in Business and Commerce

Outside the criminal context, solicitation is a fundamental part of commerce and business operations. Companies solicit customers, investors, and business partners through a variety of channels every day. The legal framework governing commercial solicitation focuses primarily on consumer protection and fair business practices.

Email and Telephone Solicitation

Unsolicited email and telephone calls are among the most heavily regulated forms of commercial solicitation. The CAN-SPAM Act requires commercial emails to include an opt-out mechanism, a valid physical mailing address, and accurate subject lines. The TCPA restricts robocalls and autodialed calls to cell phones without prior consent.

Consumers can register their phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry to reduce unwanted telemarketing calls. Businesses that violate these rules face penalties of up to $50,000 per violation.

Proxy Solicitation

In corporate governance, proxy solicitation refers to the process of requesting shareholder votes on company matters such as board elections, mergers, or executive compensation. The SEC closely regulates this process under Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, requiring companies to provide shareholders with detailed proxy statements before soliciting their votes.

Non-Solicitation Agreements

A non-solicitation agreement is a contract in which one party (typically an employee) agrees not to solicit the other party's clients, customers, or employees for a specified period after the business relationship ends. These agreements are common in employment contracts, partnership agreements, and business sale transactions.

Non-solicitation agreements are generally considered less restrictive than non-compete agreements because they do not prevent a person from working in their field. They simply prohibit actively reaching out to specific clients or recruiting former colleagues. Courts tend to enforce reasonable non-solicitation agreements more readily than broad non-compete clauses.

To be enforceable, most courts require that a non-solicitation agreement be reasonable in scope, duration, and geographic limitation. Agreements that are overly broad or last for an unreasonable period may be struck down or judicially modified.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is solicitation a crime?

Solicitation is a crime when it involves requesting or encouraging another person to commit a criminal act. This includes soliciting prostitution, murder, drug distribution, or any other illegal activity. In a commercial or charitable context, solicitation is generally legal but regulated by federal and state laws.

What is the difference between solicitation and conspiracy?

Solicitation requires only that one person ask another to commit a crime. Conspiracy requires an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime, plus (in most jurisdictions) an overt act in furtherance of the agreement. A solicitation becomes a conspiracy once the other party agrees to participate.

Can I be charged with solicitation if the other person refused?

Yes. Criminal solicitation is complete the moment the request is made. It does not matter whether the other person agrees, refuses, or even reports the solicitation to law enforcement. The act of asking is itself the crime.

Is solicitation a felony or a misdemeanor?

It depends on the crime being solicited. Solicitation of prostitution is typically a misdemeanor for a first offense. Solicitation of serious crimes like murder, kidnapping, or child exploitation is charged as a felony with severe penalties, including lengthy prison sentences. Understanding what distinguishes a misdemeanor from a felony is important for evaluating the potential consequences.

"No soliciting" signs: are they legally enforceable?

"No soliciting" signs posted on private property indicate that the property owner does not want to be approached by salespeople, canvassers, or other solicitors. In many jurisdictions, local ordinances make it a minor offense (typically a fine) to ignore such signs. However, some courts have held that certain types of solicitation, such as political canvassing and religious outreach, are protected by the First Amendment and cannot be entirely prohibited.

Does a solicitation charge go on your record?

Yes. Both misdemeanor and felony solicitation convictions become part of your criminal record. Depending on the jurisdiction and the nature of the offense, expungement may be available after a waiting period. Solicitation charges involving minors typically require sex offender registration, which creates an additional, publicly accessible record.