Jersey City, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Chapter 275 defines two license classes: Class A covers ordinary secondhand goods, while Class B, the category that reaches pawnbroking, covers precious metals, items for melting, and specifically the 'purchase or sale of pawn tickets or other evidence of pledged articles or in the redemption or sale of pledged articles' (§ 275-1). A Class B applicant files with the Director of Commerce, submits two 2-inch-by-2-inch photographs and fingerprints, discloses any prior criminal conviction, and undergoes a criminal history search by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a $10 local background-check fee plus a $49 state and federal check fee.

The dealer must post an approved bond, generally $1,500, guaranteeing compliance, and the general license runs a calendar year, expiring December 31, with fees set by Chapter 160. For every pawn-ticket purchase, sale or redemption, § 275-10(B) requires the dealer to record who issued the ticket, the pledge number, the pledgor's name and address, the amount originally loaned, the date and hour of the transaction, and a description of the pledged item, all open to inspection by the Department of Public Safety and Division of Commerce at any reasonable time under § 275-11. A dealer who also melts precious metals or otherwise operates as a junk dealer needs a separate junkyard license under Chapter 202.