Forsyth County, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Daily record deadline
- Transmit to sheriff by 5:00 p.m. (Sec. 17-2)
- Inspection rights
- Sheriff may inspect stock & records anytime reasonable
- ID requirement
- Photo ID required on every pledge (Sec. 17-4)
- General penalty
- Up to $500 per violation (Sec. 1-8)
- Enforcing agency
- Forsyth County Sheriff's Office
- State law layer
- G.S. 66-385 et seq., Cash Converters Act
Summary
Every pawnbroker doing business in Forsyth County must create a daily paper and computerized record of each day's pawn transactions under Code Sec. 17-2, and transmit that computerized record to the sheriff's office by 5:00 p.m. or close of business, whichever comes first. The sheriff or a designee can inspect the records and stock, and Sec. 17-4 separately requires photo ID on every pledge.
Every pawnbroker doing business in Forsyth County shall create and maintain on each business day a daily record and a computerized record of pawnbroker activity for that day. This daily record and computerized record of pawnbroker activity shall, at all times during business hours and all other reasonable times, be open for the examination and inspection of the sheriff or the sheriff's designee. Every pawnbroker shall, by 5:00 p.m. or close of business, whichever is earlier, on each business day, electronically transmit to the sheriff's office at the sheriff's administrative building the computerized record of pawnbroker activity covering the transactions for the preceding business day.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 68).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 17-2 requires every pawnbroker doing business in the county to create and maintain, on each business day, both a written daily record and a computerized record of that day's pawnbroker activity. Both records must stay open for examination and inspection by the sheriff or the sheriff's designee during business hours and all other reasonable times. or close of business, whichever is earlier, covering the prior business day's transactions. Sec. 17-3 requires a pawnbroker to keep goods arranged in stock so the sheriff or designee can readily inspect them, meaning items can't be warehoused out of view to dodge a walkthrough.
Sec. 17-4 adds an identity-verification duty: a pawnbroker cannot knowingly buy or receive in pawn any article from a pledgor without photographic identification sufficient to satisfy a reasonable pawnbroker of that person's age and identity, and must record which type of ID was used. If the pledgor shows a driver's license or state-issued ID card, the pawnbroker must record the issuing state and the license or card number in the daily record. Chapter 17 was rewritten in full by Ord. No. 16-2018 (Sept. 6, 2018), replacing the county's earlier 2010 pawnbroker ordinance. S. S. 66-397.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 17 does not carry its own penalty section, so a pawnbroker who skips the daily record, misses the 5:00 p.m. transmission deadline, blocks a stock inspection, or takes a pledge without recording photo ID falls under the Code's general penalty in Sec. 1-8: a fine of up to $500.00 for each separate violation, with every day the violation continues counted as a new offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What ID does a Forsyth County pawnshop have to check?
What's the penalty for a pawnbroker record-keeping violation in Forsyth County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Forsyth County
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