Alpharetta, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Alpharetta Code of Ordinances Chapter 10, Article XI regulates pawnshops. Sec. 10-337 requires a city license before conducting or transacting a pawnbroker business or pawnshop, at an annual fee of $175.00, with licenses non-transferable. The section lists specific disqualifications: no license issues to anyone convicted of a felony or crime of moral turpitude without a full pardon, to anyone who furnished false information on the application, to anyone convicted of usury in Georgia or any other state, or to anyone engaged in any finance or lending business.

Applicants must also be investigated by the city police department, with the license withheld unless the department reports favorably on the applicant's general reputation in the business community, and applicants must be residents of the county or maintain a registered agent there. A $10,000.00 blanket bond payable to the city is required, and every person holding an interest in the business must be listed and sign the application. Sec. 10-338 lets city police enter and inspect pawnshop premises at any time without a warrant, as a condition the licensee accepts by holding the license, to check for stolen or illegally obtained property, and sets a tagging procedure for any item removed.

Sec. 10-339 requires pawnbrokers to furnish the director of public safety a weekly list of every item sold to or pledged with them, recording the transaction date, customer name, age, address and driver's license number, item description and identifying marks, receipt number, price or loan amount, and maturity date, entered chronologically in ink with no blank lines or erasures.