Bernalillo County, NM Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Registration certificate
- Required before operating, § 14-232
- Surety bond
- $10,000.00, county-approved surety
- Daily transaction report
- Due to sheriff by noon next day
- Pledged property hold
- 120 days from pledge or 90 after due
- Used merchandise hold
- 15 days from intake
- Revocation appeal
- Second Judicial District Court
- General penalty
- Up to $300 fine, 90 days jail
Summary
Pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers and precious metals dealers in unincorporated Bernalillo County cannot operate without a business registration certificate and a $10,000 surety bond approved by the county manager and sheriff. Daily transaction reports go to the sheriff, and the county manager can suspend or revoke a license after a hearing.
No pawnbroker, secondhand or precious metals dealer shall engage in business without a business registration certificate.
No pawnbroker, secondhand or precious metals dealer shall engage in business without having executed and delivered a bond to the county, to be approved by the county manager and sheriff, in the penal sum of $10,000.00, with a corporate surety authorized by the laws of the state to write surety bonds therein, and conditioned for the conduct of such pawnbroker's business according to law and for the due and faithful observance of each and every provision of this article. Such bond shall be for the benefit of the county and of each and every person damaged by a breach of any condition thereof.
No personal property pawned or pledged shall be sold or disposed of, except by redemption, by any pawnbroker within 120 days from the time said personal property was pawned or pledged with the pawnbroker or within 90 days after the indebtedness becomes due, whichever is later.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 92).
Full Breakdown
Bernalillo County Code Article VI of Chapter 14 (§§ 14-231 through 14-238) sets the licensing framework. 00 surety bond approved by the county manager and sheriff, running to the benefit of the county and anyone damaged by a breach. Section 14-231 defines a pawnbroker as a person engaged in making pawn transactions and a secondhand dealer as any owner, operator, employee or contractor at a pawnshop, secondhand store, junkshop, or automobile salvage or wreckage establishment dealing in gold, silver or platinum. Section 14-234 bars accepting pledges from minors, intoxicated persons, habitual drunkards, drug addicts or known thieves, or property with a defaced serial number.
, is exempt. Persistent erroneous or late reports are a misdemeanor. Section 14-236 bars selling pledged property within 120 days of the pledge or 90 days after the debt is due, whichever is later, and bars disposing of purchased used merchandise within 15 days of intake. Section 14-238 lets the county manager suspend or revoke a license after a written complaint from the sheriff, notice, and an administrative hearing held 10 to 20 days out; an aggrieved licensee may appeal to the Second Judicial District Court under the Rules of Civil Procedure for the District Courts.
Violations & Fines
The county manager can suspend or permanently revoke a pawnbroker's, secondhand dealer's or precious metals dealer's business license after the sheriff files a written complaint and an administrative hearing is held. Acts violating Article VI also support civil or criminal prosecution under the general Code penalty, section 1-6: a fine up to $300.00, up to 90 days imprisonment, or both. Persistent or frequent erroneous or incomplete transaction reports, or delays in submitting them, are separately made a misdemeanor under section 14-235(d).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Bernalillo County pawnbroker need a bond as well as a registration certificate?
How long must a pawnbroker hold pledged property before selling it?
What happens if a pawnshop's transaction reports are late or wrong?
Can a revoked pawnbroker license be appealed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bernalillo County
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