Canton, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Canton Codified Ordinances 747.01 defines a pawnbroker as anyone lending money on deposit or pledge of personal property (other than securities or printed evidence of debt) at a total charge, interest rate or discount above eight percent a year, or anyone buying personal property from a seller under an agreement to make it available for repurchase later at a higher price. Before advertising, transacting or soliciting business as a pawnbroker in the City, 747.02 requires registering the State of Ohio pawnbroker's license, and any renewal, with the Director of Public Safety.

Once registered, 747.03 requires the pawnbroker to keep separate pawn and purchase forms, approved by the Superintendent of the Division of Financial Institutions in the Ohio Department of Commerce, recording the goods pledged or sold, the time of the transaction, the loan or purchase amount, interest and charges, the redemption period, and the seller's name, age, address, driver's or commercial license number or other ID, plus a physical description; jewelry, gold and silver items also get their maker's name, serial or model numbers and identifying marks logged.

Forms are kept in numerical order at the pawnbroker's location, open to inspection by the Division of Financial Institutions and by any police officer on demand. Section 747.04 adds a daily obligation: every business day, the pawnbroker reports to the Chief of Police, on police-supplied forms, every article pledged or sold the previous business day along with the ticket number and the amount advanced. Enforcement runs through the state, not a city fine schedule: under 747.99, the Director of Public Safety or a police officer who learns of a violation of Ohio R.C. Chapter 4727 or of Chapter 747 notifies the State Superintendent of Financial Institutions under R.C. 4727.13.