La Habra, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit issuer
- La Habra Police Department, chief approval
- Reporting deadline
- Noon the day after acquisition
- Standard hold period
- Thirty days, extendable to ninety
- Minor customers
- Barred without parent's written permission
- Records
- Open to law enforcement at all times
Summary
In the City of La Habra, anyone in the pawnbroking business, receiving goods in pledge as security for a loan, needs a police-approved permit under Municipal Code Section 5.46.020 before opening. Every pledged item must be reported to the chief of police by noon the next day and held for thirty days, and the chief can extend that hold to ninety days on any item believed stolen.
§ 5.46.010. Definitions. ... "Pawnbroker"means and includes any person, copartnership, firm or corporation who engages in the business of receiving goods in pledge as security for a loan. ... ... § 5.46.020. Permit required. A. No person, copartnership, firm or corporation shall conduct business as a pawnbroker, secondhand dealer or auctioneer within the city without first obtaining a proper permit therefor, as provided in this chapter. ... ... § 5.46.130. Thirty-day hold of property. Every pawnbroker, secondhand dealer and auctioneer shall retain in his possession for a period of thirty days all personal property reported under the provisions of this chapter. ... A police officer of the city may require the pawnbroker, secondhand dealer or auctioneer, upon notice, written or verbal, to hold property which the police officer has reason to believe is stolen, for a period not to exceed ninety days from the date of placing such hold.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 5.46 defines a pawnbroker, under Section 5.46.010, as any person, copartnership, firm or corporation engaged in receiving goods in pledge as security for a loan, and Section 5.46.020 bars conducting that business in the city without a permit issued by the police department and approved by the chief of police. Applications go to the city clerk, who refers them to the chief of police for investigation under Section 5.46.030, and Section 5.46.050 requires fingerprinting and photographing of every applicant, with the state's own fingerprint-processing fee charged to the applicant.
The chief must refuse the permit for a material misstatement or for a conviction of theft, receiving stolen property, embezzlement, fraud, false pretenses or moral turpitude that reasonably connects to the business. Section 5.46.070 requires every pawnbroker to report all property received in pledge to the chief of police by twelve noon of the day following acquisition, using police or Department of Justice forms (5.46.090) and recording a right-thumb fingerprint of the pledging customer on that report (5.46.100). Section 5.46.130 sets a standing thirty-day hold on all reported property, measured from the chief's receipt of the report, and lets a police officer extend the hold to ninety days on property reasonably believed stolen; release before that requires the officer's written authorization.
A pawnbroker may not deal with anyone under eighteen without a parent's or guardian's written permission under penalty of perjury (Section 5.46.140), and must post a sign identifying the business as a pawnbroker, readable from the sidewalk (Section 5.46.150). Records must be kept in English and open to any law enforcement officer at all times (Sections 5.46.110, 5.46.120).
Violations & Fines
The chief of police may refuse or revoke a pawnbroker's permit for a falsified application, a disqualifying criminal conviction, or a failure to maintain the standards required for issuance under Section 5.46.050. Failing to report a pledged item to the chief of police by noon the next day, skipping the required fingerprint record on a transaction, or releasing held property before the thirty-day (or extended ninety-day) hold expires exposes the permit itself to revocation under this chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does La Habra require pawnshops to get a permit?
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Can a pawnbroker in La Habra take items from a minor?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in La Habra
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