Doña Ana County, NM Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Chapter 268, adopted September 26, 2017 by Ord. No. 293-2017, requires anyone doing business as a pawnbroker in the unincorporated county to hold a business registration fee certificate under Chapter 154, Article I (§ 268-4) and to execute a $5,000 corporate surety bond approved by the County's Community Development Department before opening (§ 268-6); the bond covers anyone damaged by a breach of its conditions, and pawnbrokers must give the department 30 days' written notice before cancelling it. Section 268-7 requires a daily report, on a Sheriff-approved form, of every item of used property received or purchased, including the item's description, serial number, the transaction date and time, and the seller's name, address, physical description and photo ID number; reports must be ready for Sheriff pickup within three days and kept on file for at least six months, and all reports must be submitted daily to LeadsOnline, the web-based law enforcement reporting system.

Section 268-8 lets the Community Development Department, the Attorney General or the Sheriff's Office inspect records and pawned items at any reasonable time. Section 268-9 bars selling or disposing of pawned property, except by redemption, until at least 90 days after the debt becomes due. Section 268-11 bars purchasing from anyone under 18 or apparently intoxicated, and § 268-13 bars accepting items with defaced serial numbers or that the pawnbroker should know are stolen.