Battle Creek, MI Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Chapter 836 of the Battle Creek Codified Ordinances covers pawnbrokers, secondhand goods dealers and junk dealers together. Section 836.01(b)(1) requires a license from the City Clerk's Office before anyone engages in either business. The Clerk or a designated representative signs the licenses that Michigan's Public Act 273 of 1917 assigns to the Chief Executive Officer (pawnbrokers) and Public Act 350 of 1917 assigns to the Mayor (secondhand and junk dealers). Application, denial, suspension and revocation follow Chapter 802, and if Chapter 802 conflicts with Chapter 836, Chapter 836 controls. The annual license fee and any bond are set in Section 802.24 and paid to the City Treasurer before the license issues.

The application is signed under oath, and the licensee must give the Clerk updated information within fourteen days of any change. A license names one place of business, and the holder cannot operate from any other location. A pawnbroker license does not replace a Precious Metal and Gem Dealer license or a Secondhand Goods and Junk Dealer license, and holding those does not excuse a pawnbroker from licensing. Each business needs its own license. The Clerk can reinstate a suspended license once the problems are fixed. A revoked license cannot be reissued or reinstated until a year has passed from the date of revocation, and the applicant must then file a new application and pay a new application fee.

Section 836.01(b)(7) bars anyone convicted of theft or dishonesty in the previous five years from holding a license or working for a licensee. The application form lists every licensee, officer, partner and employee and authorizes the Clerk or the Police Department to run a criminal check on each.

Operating rules sit in Section 836.02. Records must include a photo of the property and a copy of the customer's driver's license or state identification card. Reports go electronically to the Chief of Police within twenty-four hours, except at locations with ten or fewer buy, consignment or pawn transactions in each ninety day period that sign a declaration under penalty of perjury. Purchased articles are held at least fifteen days unless a state statute sets another time. Section 836.03 bars a pawnbroker from buying anything from a minor without written parent or guardian consent, and Section 836.04 exempts compliant internet drop-off stores.