Charlottesville, VA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Classification
- BPOL Class IV, Subclassification H
- Tax rate
- $0.36 per $100 gross receipts
- Filing deadline
- March 1 each license year
- Exemption threshold
- $100,000 gross receipts
- Licensing office
- Commissioner of the Revenue
- Audit power
- Commissioner's license inspector
Summary
Pawnbrokers in Charlottesville are licensed under City Code § 14-19(i), Subclassification H of the Class IV BPOL tax, alongside auctioneers, detective agencies and billboard rentals. The Commissioner of the Revenue collects an annual license tax of $0.36 per $100 of gross receipts before a pawnshop may operate.
(i)Subclassification H. The following types of businesses shall obtain a city business license and shall pay an annual license tax of thirty-six cents ($0.36) per one hundred dollars ($100.00) of gross receipts:(1)Advertising distributors. ... (11)Pawnbrokers.(12)Any other repair, personal or business service, or other business or occupation not specifically included in any other subclassification under this section.(13)Writers and authors.
Full Breakdown
36 per $100 of gross receipts. As with every BPOL class, § 14-15(a) exempts a pawnbroker whose gross receipts are $100,000 or less from the license tax itself, though the flat issuance fee of $35 or $50 under § 14-15(b) can still apply. A pawnbroker applies for the license with the Commissioner of the Revenue before opening, per § 14-11(a)-(b), and the Commissioner will not knowingly license a pawnshop at a location the Development Code prohibits under § 14-11(c). The license and tax are due by March 1 of each license year under § 14-12(a), and the Commissioner's license inspector may audit the pawnshop's purchase, sale and gross-receipts records at any time under § 14-14(a).
Violations & Fines
A pawnshop that opens without first securing the Class IV license from the Commissioner of the Revenue is doing business without a license and subject to prosecution on that basis; a false statement on the application violates § 14-11(g). Refusing to produce the shop's transaction records for the license inspector's audit is a Class 3 misdemeanor under § 14-9(e), charged separately for each day of continued refusal, and an unpaid license tax draws a 10 percent penalty plus 8 percent annual interest under § 14-12(d)-(e).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Charlottesville require a special pawnbroker license?
How is the pawnbroker license tax different from other Class IV businesses?
What happens if a pawnshop won't show its records to the city?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Charlottesville
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