Augusta-Richmond County, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Section 6-6-15 conditions the bond on making good all damages sustained by the carelessness, neglect or unfair dealing of the licensee, requiring two good and approved sureties in addition to the certificate required by § 6-6-3. Section 6-6-16 lets any Richmond County Sheriff's deputy enter the premises at any time to search for missing or stolen articles or to make any inspection the chapter authorizes, without the formality of a search warrant, and § 6-6-17 subjects every pledged or purchased article, and every required record, to Sheriff inspection at all times.

Under § 6-6-18(a), a pawnbroker must hold goods taken in pawn or bought outright for at least 30 days before selling, transferring or shipping them, though that hold does not apply to books, DVDs, CDs, cassette tapes, audio records or video games; § 6-6-18(b) lets the Sheriff's Office place a law-enforcement hold on any item under investigation, which the pawnbroker must preserve until the hold is lifted or the item is seized as evidence. Section 6-6-19 lets the pawnbroker and the pawner agree on the loan amount and term, and § 6-6-20 allows the pawnbroker to sell unredeemed articles once 30 days pass the agreed redemption date.

Section 6-6-21 requires a numbered pawn ticket matching the transaction record at the time of pawning, and § 6-6-22 requires posting the traditional three-ball pendant sign within five days of receiving the business tax certificate. Section 6-6-23 sweeps in any money lender other than a bank or state-regulated institution, taxing and regulating them exactly as pawnbrokers. Minors under 17 cannot pawn or sell goods under § 6-6-14.