Albany, OR Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

In the City of Albany, Oregon, pawnbrokers do not get a separate city pawn license. Chapter 7.90, Secondhand Dealers and Transient Merchants, folds them into the secondhand dealer system. Section 7.90.020 defines a dealer to include any pawnbroker licensed under the Oregon Pawnbroker's Act, ORS 726.020 through 726.990, and defines a pawnbroker as any business required by ORS 726.040 to hold an Oregon pawnbroker's license. The chapter then requires every such pawnbroker to have a secondhand dealer license, and all loans, buys, and consignments at the business are subject to the chapter's requirements unless the chapter says otherwise.

The city license is the special license in § 7.90.030, issued by the Chief of Police under § 7.90.050. The Chief must issue it within 30 days of receiving an application if no cause for denial exists. It renews automatically at 12:00 a.m. on January 15th each year, cannot be transferred, is valid only for a single business location, and has to be displayed where patrons can see it. Section 7.90.035 requires a fixed physical business location. The application under § 7.90.040 asks for each principal's name, birth date, and occupation, written proof that all principals are at least 18, a business history, and a lease copy if the applicant does not own the premises.

Pawn loans get some relief. Section 7.90.090 exempts pawnbroker loan transactions from the 14-day hold because of the redeemable nature of the loans and the holding requirements in ORS Chapter 726. If a loan is converted to a buy within 14 days of the pawn transaction, the time since the original pawn counts toward the hold. Loans made in compliance with State law by persons licensed as pawnbrokers by the State of Oregon are also outside the definition of acquire in § 7.90.020(2)(a). Dealers report new transactions of $20.00 or more, loan renewals do not need to be reported, and a purchase is reported to the Police Department within three days (§ 7.90.080). Under § 7.90.120, an item consigned with a cash advance and a buy-back fee is treated as a loan under the Oregon Pawnbroker's Act.