Bloomfield, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Chapter 417 of the Bloomfield Township Code, titled Precious Metals, Gems, Other Metals, Gift Cards, and Secondhand Goods, is the licensing scheme the Township Council uses for pawn activity in Bloomfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey. The chapter defines pawn as a bailment of personal property as security for a debt, redeemable on set terms with an implied power of sale on default, and it defines purchase to include an exchange, deposit, pledge, conveyance or trade. Section 417-3 bars any buyer or dealer from the regulated activity without a license from the Township Clerk. The license carries a number and must be prominently displayed inside the licensed premises. The requirement also reaches any individual employee who handles regulated transactions for a buyer or dealer.

The application fee is a nonrefundable $250, and the annual renewal is a nonrefundable $250 for the premises, on top of whatever the dealer pays for the electronic reporting system. Under § 417-6 the form comes from the Township Clerk and is built by the Police Department. It asks for the licensee's name and address, the business address, a copy of a valid certification of occupancy or zoning permit, and fingerprints, with the fingerprinting cost borne by the applicant. A license covers one place of business only, and a licensee cannot do business anywhere else (§§ 417-9 and 417-10).

Once licensed, a dealer must record each transaction on a numbered receipt and enter it into the electronic database designated by the Police Director within 24 hours, including the seller's identification, a color image of that identification and a color image of every item. Sellers sign a declaration of ownership. Section 417-12 bars dealing with anyone under 18 unless a parent or guardian consents in writing, and with anyone who is intoxicated. Cash payments to one seller are limited to two transactions in a seven-day period, and a seller with more than five transactions in a thirty-day period is paid by bank check. Under § 417-13 goods stay unaltered and in public view at the licensed location for 15 days.