New Orleans, LA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Code of Ordinances § 150-963(d)(1)
- Minimum annual license tax
- $300.00
- Location ban
- 300 ft of gaming establishment/riverboat dock
- Record retention
- 2 years, § 130-105
- Police reporting
- daily, next business day, § 130-106
- Interest cap
- state law, R.S. 37:1791 via § 130-104
Summary
New Orleans licenses pawnbrokers through its occupational license tax code rather than a standalone permit article: Sec. 150-963(d)(1) sets a $300.00 minimum annual license tax based on gross receipts plus loans made, and bars any pawnshop from locating within 300 feet of a licensed gaming establishment or riverboat docking facility, measured by sidewalk or straight-line distance.
For every pawnbroker, or person keeping a loan office and engaged in lending money on articles pawned or pledged, and for each and every money broker, money lender, or person lending money on, or purchasing time, wages, or salaries of laborers, clerks, or other wage earners or other persons, whether the same be earned or unearned, and whether the business is conducted in an office or otherwise, the license tax shall be based on the amount of gross sales and receipts from any retail sales plus the amount of loans made by the business. However, the minimum license tax paid by pawnbrokers licensed under the provisions of this subsection shall be $300.00. No license shall be granted to any pawnbroker whose designated place of business is situated within 300 feet or less of any official gaming establishment or designated docking facility of a riverboat licensed to conduct gaming activities or gaming operations pursuant to Chapter 9 or 10 of Title 4 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 116 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Pawnbrokers doing business in New Orleans are licensed under the city's occupational license tax article rather than a dedicated pawnbroker-permit chapter. Sec. " The same subsection imposes a locational ban: no license may be granted to a pawnbroker whose place of business sits within 300 feet or less of an official gaming establishment or a licensed riverboat's docking facility, with the distance measured on foot along the sidewalk from the gaming property line, or in a straight line from the dock; a later gaming establishment moving within that radius does not retroactively void an existing license.
S. 37:1791 (Sec. 130-104); keep a permanent two-year transaction record with the pledgor's name, address, physical description, ID number, and the pledge's description and maturity date (Sec. 130-105); and report that information to the superintendent of police on a daily basis, by the end of the next business day (Sec. 130-106). A pawnshop that also buys and sells jewelry outright, rather than only lending against it, must separately comply with the secondhand-jewelry-dealer permit article, Sec. 130-66 et seq.
Violations & Fines
No occupational license may issue to a pawnbroker sited within 300 feet of a gaming establishment or riverboat dock. Beyond the tax code, pawnbrokers who fail to keep the required transaction records under Sec. 130-105 or fail to report daily to the superintendent of police under Sec. 130-106 are subject to the Code's general penalty, Sec. 1-13: up to $1,000 and six months in jail for a first offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does New Orleans require a special pawnbroker permit?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Orleans
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