Alameda, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Alameda's Article VIII regulations on 'Loans and Second-Hand Business,' Municipal Code Section 6-44, cover anyone in the city who buys, sells, exchanges or receives in pledge secondhand bicycles, precious stones, silverware, jewelry, old gold or silver, clothing, tools, surgical, dental or drawing instruments, firearms or junk, whether as a standalone business or alongside another trade. 1 requires the dealer to keep a record book at the place of business, written in English, entering at the time of each purchase, sale, pledge or exchange a description of the article sufficient to identify it, plus the signature and address of the person on the other side of the transaction; if goods are exchanged, the dealer must also describe what was given in return.

2 requires a true copy of the prior week's entries to be delivered to the Chief of Police at least once a week. 3 makes the record book open to inspection by the Chief of Police or any city police officer at any time during business hours, and it is unlawful for the person keeping the book to refuse to produce it on demand. 4 requires every pawned, purchased or exchanged item to be held at least ten days before the dealer disposes of it, giving police a window to trace stolen property.

The chapter dates to Ordinance No. S. Pawnbrokers also carry a general business license: the license fee schedule lists 'PAWNBROKER' under the Retailing and Wholesaling classification, paying the same forty-cent-per-thousand-dollars-of-gross-receipts annual fee as any other retail dealer, rather than a pawnbroker-specific license fee.