Moorpark, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Moorpark Municipal Code Chapter 5.32 defines a "pawnbroker" as any person who, in the course of business, buys, sells or deals in secondhand goods, wares or merchandise other than motor vehicles or junk and provides loans secured by that merchandise. Section 5.32.020(B) bars any person, as a principal, from engaging in the pawnbroker business without first obtaining a business registration permit, the same permit type issued under Chapter 5.08. To get that permit, Section 5.32.030 requires a written application to the Moorpark Police Department listing the applicant's residence address, the business address, the trade name, and the names and addresses of everyone with an ownership interest. Section 5.32.040 lets the police department approve the application only if the applicant has no conviction for crimes involving stolen goods and no repeated violations of the state reporting rules in Business and Professions Code Sections 21625 through 21647.

Once operating, Section 5.32.050 requires a completed report to the police department every day the business operates, listing all goods, wares and merchandise purchased or received the preceding day; the report is due by 2:00 p.m. in person, by email or by fax, and the department must keep each report for three years. Section 5.32.060 requires that everything purchased or received stay open for inspection by any police officer during business hours. Section 5.32.070 makes it unlawful to sell or dispose of any item until at least 72 hours have passed since it was first reported to the department as purchased or acquired, unless the buyer already holds a Chapter 5.32 business registration. Under the Chapter 5.08 permit rules that Chapter 5.32 incorporates, registration permits run for one year from a quarterly issuance date (January, April, July, October) and must be renewed 30 days before expiration.