Osceola County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Section 13-130 of the Code of Ordinances, part of the Division II regulations on dealers in secondhand goods, defines a pawnbroker as anyone in the business of loaning money on the security of pledged personal property, however the loan is documented, including devices designed to disguise a pawn. Subsection (a) requires a pawnbroker to record every pledged article: the pledgor's identifying information, including name, address, birthdate, driver's license or other government ID number and a thumbprint on the original record, and a description of the item with serial numbers, date and agreed value.

That record must go to the county sheriff within 24 hours of the transaction (§ 13-130(b)). Under subsection (c), the pawnbroker must give the borrower a receipt stating the loan amount, pawn period and monthly interest rate, and may not sell or dispose of pledged property until six months have passed with no payment of principal or interest; until that six-month window closes, the item must stay unaltered on the pawnbroker's business premises or a designated warehouse within the county. No receipt or contract may shorten either the six-month redemption period or the 24-hour report window (§ 13-130(e)). Sale records must be kept three years and are open to unannounced inspection by law enforcement (§ 13-130(g)-(i)).