Hall County, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Business license section
- Sec. 5.10.550
- Investigation required
- Before any pawn brokerage license issues
- Disqualifying record
- Moral turpitude conviction within 10 years
- Suspension authority
- Sec. 5.10.480, pending revocation hearing
- Zoning classification
- Sec. 7.5.11.D, Special Use in S-S/H-B/M-U
- By-right districts
- Light Industrial, Heavy Industrial only
Summary
Hall County requires a background investigation before issuing a business license to a pawn brokerage under Sec. 5.10.550, and pawn brokers are one of the business types the county can temporarily suspend mid-hearing under Sec. 5.10.480. Zoning-wise, Sec. 7.5.11.D classifies pawn shops as a Special Use requiring Board of Commissioners approval in the county's commercial districts.
Persons, firms or corporations engaged in the following businesses, trades or professions shall be investigated prior to the issuance of a business license: ... Auctioneers of property other than real estate, owners and/or operators of billiard rooms or game rooms, canvassers and solicitors, ... second hand sales, pawn brokerages, precious metal dealers, carnivals, circuses, traveling shows, taxi services, limousine services, tattoo artists, tattoo operators and bounty hunters. [Sec. 5.10.550] ... the county shall have the power to temporarily suspend their business licenses under certain circumstances pending a hearing on the revocation of the license as described in section 5.10.490. The following businesses are subject to temporary suspension of their business licenses as described in subsection (B): ... pawn brokers ... [Sec. 5.10.480]
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
Sec. A requires that "persons, firms or corporations engaged in" listed trades "be investigated prior to the issuance of a business license," and its list of covered businesses explicitly names "pawn brokerages" alongside second hand sales and precious metal dealers. Under Sec. 00 hearing fee is paid. Separately, Sec. 480 lists "pawn brokers" among the business types the county can immediately, temporarily suspend by certified-mail notice if continued operation "would create an immediate and present danger to the health, safety, security, or general welfare" pending a revocation hearing under Sec.
490. On the zoning side, Sec. D defines "Pawn Shop, Pawn Broker, Title Pawn, Title Loan, Check Cashing" as "a business involved in any part of the pledge, pawn, or exchange of any goods, wares, merchandise, or any kind of personal property or title as security for the repayment of money lent," and the Allowed Use Table requires a Special Use Permit for this use in the Suburban Shopping, Highway Business and Mixed-Use districts, while permitting it by right only in Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial zoning; it is not permitted at all in any residential, agricultural or office district.
Violations & Fines
Operating a pawn shop without the required business license investigation or in a zoning district where it isn't listed as Special Use or Permitted exposes the operator to license suspension under Sec. 5.10.480, revocation after a hearing under Sec. 5.10.460, and, for the zoning violation itself, an injunction under Sec. 11.4.3 plus a misdemeanor penalty under Sec. 11.4.4 of up to $1,000.00 or six months in jail per Sec. 1.50.020, charged per day of continued operation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Hall County investigate pawnbrokers before licensing them?
Can Hall County suspend a pawn shop's license without a full hearing first?
Where can a pawn shop legally operate in Hall County?
What happens if a pawnbroker's conviction disqualifies them from a license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hall County
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