East Brunswick, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

The Code defines a pawnbroker as any person, partnership, association or corporation lending money on deposit or pledge of personal property, purchasing personal property on condition of selling it back at a stipulated price, or doing business as a furniture storage warehouseman and lending money on goods pledged as collateral security. Section 135-58 requires a license from the Municipal Clerk before anyone engages in the business of buying, selling or pawning precious metals or other secondhand goods, and the application asks for name, date of birth, address, citizenship and any criminal convictions or ordinance violations.

The Chief of Police investigates within thirty (30) days, including a fingerprint criminal background check through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, repeated on a triennial basis. A license can be denied for fraudulent or deceptive business practices, convictions involving deceit, theft or receiving stolen goods, or an inability to comply with the reporting requirements. Under § 135-61.2 each dealer delivers a $10,000 bond from a surety company authorized in New Jersey, kept for a minimum of one year and renewed annually along with the license. A license cannot be assigned.

For every pawn, the dealer requires acceptable identification, a signed Declaration of Ownership and a sequentially numbered receipt recording the seller, the item and the price paid. Transactions go into the electronic database authorized by the Chief of Police by the close of business on the same date. Section 135-62.1 gave existing pawnbrokers ninety (90) days to conform and states that the chapter does not replace pre-existing statutory requirements governing pawnbrokers, as in N.J.S.A. 45:22-1 et seq.