Secondhand dealers

More businesses must obtain a state license, report acquisitions to the state, and hold items for inspection, helping law enforcement trace stolen property.

What the law does ​

• Removes the requirement that buying or selling secondhand goods be a business’s principal activity before dealer rules apply.
• Requires secondhand dealers to hold a California secondhand-dealer license and electronically report covered acquisitions to the California Pawn and SecondhandDealer System.
• Bars cities, counties, and state agencies from issuing a local secondhand-dealer license or permit without a state license.
• Exempts coin dealers and transactions involving coins, monetized bullion, and qualifying precious-metal ingots from these rules.
• Exempts goods acquired from nonprofit organizations or through bulk purchases of donated items.
• Broadens potentially reportable goods by removing the former threshold definition for classes of commonly stolen property.

Who it affects ​

• Businesses that buy, sell, trade, pawn, consign, or auction secondhand tangible personal property.
• Pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers that must report, retain records, and temporarily hold covered property.
• Cities, counties, and state agencies that issue business licenses or permits.