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Lafayette, LA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Q: How is the pawnbroker license tax calculated?

Sec. 82-676 bases it on the "annual average of the actual capital in use in the business," charging $350.00 under $25,000.00 in capital, $600.00 between $25,000.00 and $50,000.00, and $1,000.00 for $50,000.00 or more.

Q: Do I need more than one license if I run several pawn shops?

Yes. Sec. 82-676(b) requires "a separate license tax for each and every office or place of business" the pawnbroker operates, whether under the same name or not.

Q: Can a pawnbroker also sell retail merchandise?

Sec. 82-676(d) allows retail sales under the same license up to $1,000,000.00 in gross receipts; beyond that, a separate retail license is required, taxed on retail receipts plus one-third of the money loaned.

Q: What if the pawnbroker doesn't pay the tax?

Sec. 82-641 makes the tax, interest, penalties, and costs immediately delinquent without notice, and lets the parish collector obtain a court judgment ordering payment.

Some Restrictions

Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Capital under $25,000: $350.00/year license tax
Capital $25,000-<$50,000: $600.00/year
Capital $50,000+: $1,000.00/year
Multiple offices: Separate license required per office
Retail sales cap: $1,000,000 gross under same license
Excluded: Bank lending, crop-lien farm loans

Summary

Anyone operating as a pawnbroker or lending against pledged goods, wages or salaries in Lafayette Parish needs an occupational license, taxed under Sec. 82-676 on the business's average annual capital -- from $350.00 to $1,000.00 a year -- with a separate license required for each additional office.

For each and every pawnbroker or person keeping a loan office and engaging in lending money on articles pawned or pledged, and for each and every moneybroker, moneylender or person lending money on or purchasing time, wages or salaries of laborers, clerks or other wage earners or other persons... the license tax shall be based on the annual average of the actual capital in use in the business... If any person carrying on the business designated in this section conducts more than one office or place of business, whether in the same or under different names, such person shall pay a separate license tax for each and every office or place of business conducted.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 65).

Full Breakdown

Sec. 00 or more. A pawnbroker running more than one office -- even under different names -- owes a separate license tax for each location (Sec. 82-676(b)). The tax does not reach banks already licensed under Sec. 82-675, nor lenders secured by a real-estate mortgage, nor money advanced to planters or farmers for crop production secured by a statutory crop lien, pawn or pledge (Sec. 82-676(c)). 00; above that threshold a separate retail license is required, taxed on the retail receipts plus one-third of the total money loaned, at the rates in Sec. 82-644 (Sec. 82-676(d)).

Violations & Fines

Sec. 82-641, which governs the parish occupational license tax article that includes the pawnbroker schedule, makes an unpaid license tax "ipso facto, without demand or putting in default" immediately delinquent along with interest, penalties and costs. The parish tax collector can then take the delinquent pawnbroker before a court on a rule to show cause within two to ten days, and a judgment on that rule becomes an enforceable court order for full payment in the city-parish government's favor.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the pawnbroker license tax calculated?

Sec. 82-676 bases it on the "annual average of the actual capital in use in the business," charging $350.00 under $25,000.00 in capital, $600.00 between $25,000.00 and $50,000.00, and $1,000.00 for $50,000.00 or more.

Do I need more than one license if I run several pawn shops?

Yes. Sec. 82-676(b) requires "a separate license tax for each and every office or place of business" the pawnbroker operates, whether under the same name or not.

Can a pawnbroker also sell retail merchandise?

Sec. 82-676(d) allows retail sales under the same license up to $1,000,000.00 in gross receipts; beyond that, a separate retail license is required, taxed on retail receipts plus one-third of the money loaned.

What if the pawnbroker doesn't pay the tax?

Sec. 82-641 makes the tax, interest, penalties, and costs immediately delinquent without notice, and lets the parish collector obtain a court judgment ordering payment.

Sources & Official References

[1]Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government Code of Ordinances

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