Long Beach, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit issuing authority
- Chief of Police, within 60 days
- Applicant screening
- Fingerprinted and photographed at filing
- Bond requirement
- Faithful performance bond, pawnbrokers only
- Daily reports
- Filed with police before 10:00 a.m. next day
- Resale hold
- 30 days minimum after purchase, § 5.64.150(A)
- Minors
- No pledges/purchases from anyone under 18
Summary
Long Beach requires anyone operating a pawnshop to obtain a police-vetted permit before opening. Municipal Code § 5.64.020 bars conducting a pawnbroker business without a permit, and § 5.64.040(B) separately requires pawnbrokers, but not secondhand dealers, to file a faithful performance bond with the City.
B."Pawnbroker" means and includes any person, other than banks, trust companies, or bond brokers, who may otherwise be regulated by law and authorized to deal in commercial papers, shares of stock, bonds and other certificates of value, who keeps a pawn office, or engages in, or carries on the business of receiving jewelry, precious stones, valuables, firearms, clothing or personal property, or any other article or articles in pledge for loans, or as security, or in pawn for the repayment of monies, and exacts an interest for such loans, or who purchases articles or personal property and agrees to resell such articles so purchased to the vendors thereof... B.Any person desiring to conduct on the business of a pawnbroker shall file with the City a faithful performance bond as prescribed in regulations issued by the City Manager pursuant to Section 2.84.040.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 52 Update 1 | City Charter: Supplement 5).
Full Breakdown
Section 5.64.010(B) defines "pawnbroker" broadly to include anyone, other than banks or bond brokers, who keeps a pawn office or receives jewelry, precious stones, valuables, firearms, clothing, or other personal property in pledge for loans, charges interest on the loans, or purchases articles with an agreement to resell them to the seller at an agreed price. Applicants apply to the Chief of Police on department forms, are photographed and fingerprinted at filing, and disclose their true name, any fictitious business names, age, current address, and prior addresses for the preceding twelve months (§ 5.64.030(A)).
The Chief of Police must issue or deny the permit within 60 days; denial grounds are limited to a previously revoked or suspended pawnbroker license in any jurisdiction, or a penal record showing the applicant would be a poor business risk (§ 5.64.030(B)). Beyond the permit fee set by City Council resolution, pawnbrokers specifically must post a faithful performance bond under regulations issued pursuant to § 2.84.040 (§ 5.64.040(B)); permits are non-transferable (§ 5.64.040(C)) and renew annually without a new application if no revocation proceeding is pending (§ 5.64.050).
Every pledge or purchase requires a same-day report to the Chief of Police delivered before 10:00 a.m. the following day, describing the item, the seller, and the amount loaned or paid (§ 5.64.070); repledging an item requires an additional report (§ 5.64.080), and no article may be sold within 30 days of purchase or receipt (§ 5.64.150(A)). Pawnbrokers may not accept goods from anyone under 18 (§ 5.64.170), and premises are subject to police inspection at any time they are open (§ 5.64.120).
Violations & Fines
Operating a pawnshop in Long Beach without the § 5.64.020 permit, without the § 5.64.040(B) bond, or without filing the required § 5.64.070 daily transaction reports with the Chief of Police, is a Chapter 5.64 violation subject to the City's general penalty provisions; selling an item within the 30-day hold under § 5.64.150(A) or accepting goods from a minor under § 5.64.170 are independently prohibited acts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Long Beach pawnbroker need police approval, not just a business license?
Do Long Beach pawnbrokers need a bond that secondhand dealers don't?
How soon can a Long Beach pawnbroker resell a pledged or purchased item?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Long Beach
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