Lansing, MI Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Section 856.04 sits inside Chapter 856's secondhand-dealer scheme and adds a second layer specific to pawn transactions: "No keeper of any secondhand store shall receive any article by way of pledge or pawn, or loan or advance any money on the security of any article or thing, without first having obtained a State license as a pawnbroker in addition to the license required in Section 856.02." Michigan's pawnbroker licensing statutes, M.C.L.A. Secs. 445.471 et seq. and 446.201 et seq., are cross-referenced in the chapter's footnotes as the State-law source of that separate license.

Once a shop is pawnbroking under both licenses, the rest of Chapter 856 governs the mechanics of each pawn. Section 856.08A requires the pawnbroker to transmit every pawn, trade, purchase or consignment transaction electronically to the Lansing Police Department's computerized pawned-property system within 48 hours of the prior day's business, unless the location handles ten or fewer pawn transactions in a rolling 90-day period, in which case the dealer can sign a declaration and report on paper instead. Section 856.06 still requires holding each pawned article at least 15 days, tagged with a log number, before it can be disposed of, and Section 856.08 requires a thumbprint from the person pawning the item. Section 856.07's hours and buyer restrictions, no receiving items between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and no receiving from an intoxicated person, known thief, or minor under 18 without written parental consent, apply to pawn transactions the same as outright purchases.