Monterey Park, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Under Monterey Park Municipal Code Section 5.64.010, a pawnbroker is any person conducting a business of receiving goods in pledge for interest-bearing loans or purchasing goods with an agreement to resell them to the vendor at a stipulated price. Every pawnbroker must, per Section 5.64.030, deliver a full report to the police department office each Monday and Thursday before ten o'clock in the morning, on forms obtained from that office, describing all goods received on deposit, pledged, or purchased, along with the name, address, and description of the person who left, pledged, or sold the item, the pawn ticket number, and the amount loaned or paid.

A copy of the reporting requirement must be posted conspicuously in the place of business. Section 5.64.040 requires a complete record of all such transactions, open at all times during business hours to inspection by any police officer in the city, and Section 5.64.050 directs the chief of police to file all reports, open to inspection only by police department members. Section 5.64.060 makes it unlawful to fail to file a report, fail to keep a record, or refuse to exhibit records or goods to a police officer on demand.

Section 5.64.070 bars a pawnbroker from selling or disposing of any article within five days after it is received or purchased. Where the pawnbroking business is secondary to another licensed business at the same location, Section 5.64.080 still requires a permit under Chapter 5.16, though the operator is not required to pay an additional license fee for that secondary pawnbroker activity.