El Cajon, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Special operation license plus state license
- Business tax
- $30 per quarter (Section 5.08.080)
- Operating hours
- 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. only
- Recordkeeping
- Daily transaction logs on police forms
- Zoning
- CUP, 2,000 ft from another pawn shop
- Violation
- Deemed a public nuisance (Section 5.48.050)
Summary
Pawnbrokers in El Cajon need a special operation license, a $30-per-quarter business license tax, and a state pawnbroker license before opening, and they may only operate between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. so police can monitor transactions for stolen property.
No person shall engage in, carry on, maintain or conduct a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer business in the city without first having applied for and secured a license pursuant to Chapter 5.16, paid license taxes as specified in Chapters 5.04 and 5.08, obtained a state secondhand dealer or pawnbroker license, and complied with all regulations pertaining to such business provided in this code and all applicable state or federal regulations... It shall be unlawful for a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer to conduct such business activities between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 5.48, adopted by Ordinance 5014 in 2014 to "reduce the traffic of stolen merchandise," requires anyone conducting a pawnbroker business to first obtain a special operation license under Chapter 5.16, pay the license taxes in Chapters 5.04 and 5.08 (a pawnbroker-specific $30 per quarter under Section 5.08.080), secure a state pawnbroker license under California Financial Code Section 21000, and comply with all applicable state and city regulations (Section 5.48.020). A pawnbroker is defined as anyone in the business of receiving goods, including motor vehicles, in pledge as security for a loan.
Operating hours are restricted to 8:00 a.m. through 9:00 p.m.; conducting pawnbroker business outside those hours is unlawful (Section 5.48.040(A)). Pawnbrokers must keep daily records of every purchase, pawn transaction, and trade, submitted on forms approved by the police department (Section 5.48.040(B)), and must comply with all applicable health, zoning, fire, and building codes (Section 5.48.040(C)). Separately, Title 17's zoning code (Chapter 17.250) requires any pawn shop to obtain a conditional use permit under Chapter 17.50 and keeps it at least 2,000 feet from another pawn shop or secondhand store and 500 feet from residentially zoned property, schools, colleges, religious facilities, or parks (Section 17.250.050).
A pawnbroker business established or maintained in violation of Chapter 5.48 is a public nuisance abatable under Chapter 1.16, and violations carry the penalties in the code's general penalty clause, Section 1.24.010 (Section 5.48.050).
Violations & Fines
Operating outside the 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window, skipping the required daily police-department transaction logs, or running a pawnbroker business without the special operation license, state license, and Chapter 5.08 tax is a violation subject to the general penalty clause in Section 1.24.010, and the business itself is deemed a public nuisance abatable under Chapter 1.16 (Section 5.48.050).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in El Cajon
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