Lodi, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Permitting authority
- Chief of Police
- Application requirements
- fingerprints and photograph
- Minimum age to deal with
- 21 years old
- Holding period before resale
- 21 days
- Revocation ban on reapplying
- 12 months
- Appeal authority
- City Manager, 5-day hearing
Summary
Lodi requires anyone conducting a pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, or junk dealer business to first obtain a written permit from the chief of police under Municipal Code Section 5.20.020. Applicants are fingerprinted and photographed, and violations can mean permit revocation and a 12-month ban.
It is unlawful for any person to engage in, conduct, manage or carry on the business of a pawnbroker, or the business of buying gold, silver or jewelry, or the business of a secondhand dealer, or the business of a junk dealer or junk collector, without first applying for and receiving a permit therefor, in writing, from the chief of police. ... In the event that any person holding a permit under this chapter violates or causes to be violated any provision of this chapter or any provision of any other ordinance of the city or of any law relating to or regulating any such business, the chief of police shall revoke the permit and, in such event, no further permit shall be granted to any such person within twelve months after such revocation. ... It is unlawful for any person conducting or carrying on any business named in Section 5.20.020, or for any agent or employee of any such person, to alter, deface, sell or otherwise dispose of any article or thing within twenty-one days after such article or thing has been received or purchased by such person.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 68).
Full Breakdown
20 covers pawnbrokers, junk dealers and secondhand dealers together. 010 defines a "pawnbroker" as anyone in the business of pawnbroking, loaning money on pawns or pledges, or buying personal property to resell it back to the seller at a pre-agreed price. 020 makes it unlawful to engage in that business, or in buying gold, silver or jewelry, or in secondhand or junk dealing, without first applying for and receiving a written permit from the chief of police. 040 requires the chief of police to take the applicant's fingerprints and photograph and attach them to the application.
050 bars a permit to anyone who fails to comply with city laws regulating the business or who has been convicted of an offense involving theft of property. 060, who must hear the appellant within five days and whose ruling is final. 070. 100 requires goods to be kept in separate, dated, numbered containers until sold. 120 layers on the state reporting duties of Business and Professions Code Section 21628. 130 bars buying from, lending to, or accepting a pledge from anyone under 21 years old.
Violations & Fines
Operating without a permit is unlawful under Section 5.20.020. Violating any provision of the chapter lets the chief of police revoke the permit under Section 5.20.080, which bars reissuance to that person for 12 months; revocation takes effect on the fifth day after a registered letter is mailed to the permittee. Selling or altering pawned goods within the mandatory 21-day holding period under Section 5.20.090 is also unlawful, and stolen-property claims are resolved by the chief of police at a noticed hearing under Section 5.20.140.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who issues a pawnbroker permit in Lodi?
Can Lodi deny a pawnbroker permit over a criminal record?
How long must a Lodi pawnbroker hold an item before reselling it?
What happens if a pawnbroker violates the permit rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lodi
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