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

Two separate approvals apply. The first is the business license tax. Section 6220.29 sets it at $100 per year for every pawnbroker, and Section 6220.1 adjusts the printed schedule each January 1 by the Los Angeles-area Consumer Price Index. An annual license runs twelve months from the first day of the month of issue (Section 6213.3).

The second is a permit. Section 6324 requires a separate permit for each business named in Division 4 (Commercial Permits), and Section 6324.13 lists Pawn Broker there. Section 6321.1 adds that a separate permit is needed for every kind of business, regardless of common ownership, management or location. The application goes to the License Officer, must be signed and verified by the applicant, and carries a $150 payment to cover advertising and investigation (Sections 6311 and 6311.9). The License Officer refers the application to the Chief of Police for investigation, and the Chief can ask for fingerprints and thumbprints (Section 6311.8). Once the application is complete, the fee is paid and the Code is satisfied, Section 6312.1 directs the License Officer to issue the permit.

The License Officer can refuse a permit for fraud, misrepresentation or conduct detrimental to the public welfare, subject to appeal under Sections 6216.8 and 6216.9 (Section 6312.1.1).

Location is the harder hurdle. In Table 2-8 of Section 9102.03.020, the row for Pawn Shop shows a dash in each of the four columns, C-O, C-G, C-R and M-1, and the table legend defines a dash as Not Allowed. The Development Code's definitions describe a Pawn Shop as a commercial establishment that sells secondhand personal property and in which the operator provides loans secured by that property, and its Secondhand Store definition expressly excludes pawn shops.