Dunwoody, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Definition
- Person lending on or purchasing pledged goods for resale
- Licensing track
- Regulated as a category of secondhand dealer permit
- Redemption duty
- Must replace lost or damaged pledged goods, like-kind
- Coin exemption
- Numismatic coin exemption does not cover pawnbrokers
- State law
- Cumulative with O.C.G.A. § 44-12-130 Pawnshop Act
Summary
Dunwoody's secondhand dealer ordinance defines pawnbroker separately from an ordinary secondhand dealer and layers pawnbroker-specific duties on top of the general permit, including a duty to replace lost or damaged pledged goods with like-kind merchandise. The city is explicit that its rules are cumulative to, not a substitute for, Georgia's Pawnshop Act.
Pawnbroker means any person engaged in whole or in part in the business of lending money on the security of pledged goods, or in the business of purchasing tangible personal property on the condition that it may be redeemed or repurchased by the seller for a fixed price within a fixed period of time, or in the business of purchasing tangible personal property from persons or sources other than manufacturers or licensed dealers ... Any person properly identifying him or herself and presenting a pawn ticket to the pawnbroker shall be presumed to be the pledgor or seller and shall be entitled to redeem the pledged goods described in such ticket. In the event such pledged goods are lost or damaged while in the possession of the pawnbroker, it shall be responsibility of the pawnbroker to replace the lost or damaged goods with like kinds of merchandise and proof of replacement shall be a defense to prosecution. ... Nothing in this article shall supersede the requirements of O.C.G.A. § 44-12-130 et seq.; rather, the provisions provided herein shall be construed as cumulative to such state law provisions.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 49).
Full Breakdown
Dunwoody Code of Ordinances Section 10-51 defines a pawnbroker as anyone engaged, in whole or in part, in lending money on the security of pledged goods, or in purchasing tangible personal property on the condition it may be redeemed for a fixed price within a fixed period, or in purchasing such property from persons other than manufacturers or licensed dealers as part of that business. A pawnbroker is one category of the secondhand dealer regulated by chapter 10, article II, and must hold the same permit required of any secondhand dealer, including the age-18 minimum, the ten-year bar for felony or theft convictions, fingerprinting and the annual permit renewal filed with a verified report of gross receipts.
Two provisions apply specifically to pawn transactions. Under Section 10-68, a person who properly identifies himself and presents a pawn ticket is presumed to be the pledgor entitled to redeem the pledged goods, and if those goods are lost or damaged while the pawnbroker holds them, the pawnbroker must replace them with like-kind merchandise; proof of replacement is a defense to prosecution. Certain transactions involving numismatic coins are exempt from the article generally, but that exemption does not apply if a pawnbroker is a party to the transaction. ; Dunwoody's provisions are cumulative to, and enforced alongside, that state law.
Violations & Fines
A pawnbroker who operates without the secondhand dealer permit, or an employee who works one without a permit, is subject to the same denial, suspension and revocation grounds as any secondhand dealer, including conviction of a felony or theft-related crime within the prior ten years. Because Section 10-70 makes the local rules cumulative with O.C.G.A. § 44-12-130, a pawnbroker can also face separate state enforcement for the same pawn transaction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Dunwoody issue a separate pawnbroker license?
What happens if a pawnshop loses an item a customer pawned?
Does the city ordinance replace Georgia's pawnshop law?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dunwoody
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