Monroe County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Tax amount
- $337.50 per place of business
- Enforcing office
- Monroe County Tax Collector
- Prerequisite
- current FDACS pawnbroker license shown first
- Citation
- Monroe County Code § 23-102
- Applies to
- unincorporated Florida Keys only
Summary
In the unincorporated Florida Keys (Monroe County), every pawnbroker must pay a $337.50 local business tax for each place of business before operating. The county tax collector will not issue the business tax receipt until the pawnbroker first shows the current-year state pawnbroker license issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, layering a county revenue requirement on top of the state licensing regime.
Every person engaged in the business of pawnbroker must pay a business tax of $337.50 for each place of business. Every person engaged in the business of pawnbroker must display and exhibit to the tax collector the license for the current year issued to the pawnbroker by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services prior to the tax collector accepting the business tax payment and issuing a tax receipt.
Full Breakdown
Monroe County levies its local business tax, the county's version of the old occupational license, on every category of business operating in the unincorporated Florida Keys, and pawnbrokers get their own line in the schedule at Monroe County Code § 23-102. 50 charged for each place of business, due to the county tax collector before the pawnbroker may operate that location. The section does more than set the rate: it makes payment conditional on proof of state licensure. 50 payment and hand over the tax receipt, the pawnbroker must display and exhibit the current year's license issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
50 county business tax receipt. The requirement to show the state license was added by Ord. No. 028-2009, § 6, layered onto the original 1995 rate ordinance (Ord. No. 1-36. 50 applies uniformly whether the pawnshop sits in Key Largo, Big Pine Key, or Stock Island; the incorporated cities of Key West, Marathon, Islamorada, Key Colony Beach, and Layton issue and collect their own separate municipal business tax receipts under their own codes.
Violations & Fines
Operating as a pawnbroker in the unincorporated Keys without paying the $337.50 business tax, or without first showing the tax collector a current Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services pawnbroker license, means the tax collector will not issue the tax receipt at all, leaving the shop without a valid county business tax receipt and exposed to code compliance action.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a pawnbroker business tax cost in unincorporated Monroe County?
Does Monroe County require a state license before issuing the tax receipt?
Does this tax apply in Key West or Marathon?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monroe County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Monroe County to another location·View the Florida business licensing & operations overview
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