Mesa, AZ Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Pledged-item hold period
- 20 calendar days before resale
- License term
- One year, per location, non-transferable
- Fingerprinting
- Applicant, controlling persons, and pledgor
- Police Hold default duration
- 5 business days (90 days written)
- First suspension penalty
- $250 fine, up to 14 days closed
- Misdemeanor penalty
- Up to $2,500 fine / 6 months jail
Summary
A pawnbroker must obtain a Mesa business license under City Code § 5-7-2(C) before operating, on top of state law. Section 5-7-6(A) requires a police report on every pledged article and forbids selling or exchanging any pledged item until it has sat unaltered in the pawnbroker's custody for 20 calendar days after the transaction date.
(C)Any person who operates a business in the City as an auctioneer, pawnbroker, scrap metal dealer, or secondhand dealer must obtain a license from the Licensing Office as provided in this Chapter. ... (A)Pawnbrokers. Pawnbrokers must file a true, complete and accurate report with the Police Department of each article the pawnbroker receives subject to the reporting requirements set forth in A.R.S. Title 44, Chapter 11, Article 3. ...(2)No article will be sold or exchanged by any pawnbroker until it has been in the custody of the pawnbroker for twenty (20) calendar days after the transaction date. Any article held in custody pursuant to this Subsection (A)(2) must not be altered or transformed in any way, but must be held in the same condition in which it was delivered to the pawnbroker. This Subsection (A)(2) does not apply to the redemption of pawned or pledged articles.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 22).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 7, last amended by Ordinance No. 5935 (4-7-25), requires a separate license for each Mesa location where a person operates as a pawnbroker, issued for one year, non-transferable, and displayed conspicuously at the business under Section 5-7-2(D)-(F). Section 5-7-3 requires a complete application with fingerprints and application fee submitted to the Licensing Office, which forwards the file to the Police Department for a criminal-history review before granting the license. Section 5-7-4 requires fingerprints from every controlling person, run through the Arizona Department of Public Safety and FBI.
§ 44-1625, collect a right-index fingerprint from the pledgor, and use City-purchased transaction forms. Section 5-7-6(A)(2) then bars any sale or exchange of a pledged item for 20 calendar days from the transaction date and prohibits altering the item during that hold, though redemptions by the original pledgor are exempt. Section 5-7-7 lets any peace officer place a Police Hold on suspected stolen property that lasts five business days without written confirmation or 90 days with it, extendable in 90-day increments, during which pawned-item interest stops accruing. All transaction and hold records must be kept on-site for two years under Section 5-7-6(H).
Violations & Fines
Violations are enforced by the Business Licensing Administrator under Section 5-7-8. A license can be suspended for a related criminal conviction, false application statements, or two qualifying offenses at the licensed premises within 18 months, with a first suspension carrying a $250 fine and up to 14 days closed, a second a $500 fine and 15-30 days, and a third revocation. Any Chapter 7 violation is separately a Class One Misdemeanor under Section 5-7-11, punishable by up to a $2,500 fine and six months' imprisonment for an individual, with each day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long must a Mesa pawnshop hold an item before reselling it?
Does Mesa require a separate license for each pawnshop location?
Can Mesa police stop a pawnbroker from selling a suspected stolen item?
What happens if a Mesa pawnbroker operates without a license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mesa
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