Dothan, AL Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Reporting agency
- chief of police
- Reporting deadline
- 4:00 p.m. next business day
- Weekend transactions
- reported following Monday
- Error correction fee
- $1.00 per corrected item
- Violation consequence
- license revocation plus misdemeanor
- Format-change notice
- minimum 30 days to comply
Summary
Pawnbrokers in the City of Dothan do not need a separate stand-alone pawnbroker permit process beyond the standard business license, but Sec. 18-242 through 18-244 impose strict daily transaction-reporting duties enforced by the chief of police. Every article received in pawn, pledge, trade, purchase or consignment must be reported the next business day, and failure to comply can cost a pawnbroker both a misdemeanor conviction and revocation of the business license itself.
Sec. 18-242. - Reporting in general. Every pawnbroker within the city shall report to the chief of police, a description of every article or thing received in pawn, pledge, trade, purchase, or consignment on the business day immediately preceding the filing of the report, in a manner and time as set out herein. Reports shall be made every business day except Saturday and Sunday. Business and transactions done on Saturday or Sunday will be reported on the following Monday. ... ... Sec. 18-244. - Violations. Failure to comply with any section of this section shall result in the revocation of the pawnbroker and/or business license issued by the city and such failure to comply also constitutes a misdemeanor. Each day the violation continues, a separate misdemeanor offense occurs.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 18, Article XV of the Dothan City Code defines a pawnbroker under Sec. 18-241 as anyone who lends money or takes or buys personal property, including pistols, as a pledge with an understanding it may be redeemed. Sec. 18-242 requires every pawnbroker in the city to report to the chief of police a description of every article or thing received in pawn, pledge, trade, purchase or consignment, filed on the business day immediately following receipt; reports are due every business day except Saturday and Sunday, with weekend transactions rolled into the following Monday's report.
Sec. 18-243 modernizes that duty: pawnbrokers must submit the previous day's transactions electronically, no later than 4:00 p.m. the next business day, in a computer format the chief of police specifies so records load directly into the Dothan Police Department's system for locating lost, stolen and sought-after property. The chief of police can limit which items must be reported, and any electronic report that police staff must correct triggers a $1.00 per-item error fee billed to the pawnbroker. If the chief changes the required reporting format, pawnbrokers get at least 30 days to comply.
Sec. 18-244 backs all of this with the city's licensing power: failing to comply with any reporting section results in revocation of the pawnbroker's business license and is itself a separate misdemeanor for each day the violation continues, and unpaid error fees carry the identical revocation and misdemeanor consequence.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 18-244 makes failure to comply with the pawnbroker reporting sections grounds for revocation of the pawnbroker's business license by the city, and treats the failure itself as a misdemeanor, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense. Failing to pay the $1.00 per-item error-correction fee under Sec. 18-243(b) carries the same license revocation and misdemeanor exposure.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often must Dothan pawnbrokers report transactions?
Can a Dothan pawnbroker lose its license for reporting errors?
What must a Dothan pawnbroker report about each item?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dothan
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