Owensboro, KY Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Bond required
- $1,000 annual bond approved by Board of Commissioners
- No pledges from
- Minors, or anyone between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
- Max interest
- 2% per month plus 1/5 service fee
- Daily reporting deadline
- 11:00 a.m. next day to police database
- Sale after default
- 60 days after maturity, 10-day mailed notice
- Retention before resale
- 5 consecutive work days for police inspection
- Penalty
- Class A misdemeanor, $50 to $500 per offense
Summary
Owensboro licenses pawnbrokers under Municipal Code Article VI. Every licensee must post a $1,000 bond approved by the Board of Commissioners, and pawnbrokers cannot accept a pledge from a minor or from anyone between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Loans and purchases go into a police-department database by 11:00 a.m. daily, and interest is capped at 2 percent per month plus a one-fifth service fee.
Any person (person includes any individual, business or other entity) who loans money on deposit of personal property, or who deals in the purchase of personal property on condition of selling the property back again at a stipulated price, or who makes a public display at his place of business of the sign generally used by pawnbrokers to denote their business, or who publicly exhibits a sign advertising money to loan on personal property or deposit is a pawnbroker. The term pawnbroker shall include any check cashing or cash advance business that accepts personal property as security for a loan or advancement of funds. ... Every person to whom a city license is granted to carry on the business of a pawnbroker shall annually enter into bond to the city, with good and sufficient surety to be approved by the Owensboro Board of Commissioners, in the penal sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00). ... No pawnbroker shall receive, by way of pledge or pawn, any article from a minor at any time, nor from any person between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Full Breakdown
The city's Board of Commissioners licenses pawnbrokers under Chapter 16, Article VI of the Owensboro Municipal Code, and the definition in Sec. 16-141 reaches beyond pawnshops: any check-cashing or cash-advance business that takes personal property as security for a loan or advance counts as a pawnbroker too. Before opening, a licensee must post an annual $1,000 bond, with surety approved by the Board of Commissioners, promising to follow both KRS 226.030 through .050 and Sections 16-141 through 16-149 of the city code (Sec. 16-142). Two protections run through the article: no pledge from a minor at any time, and no pledge from anyone between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
(Sec. 16-143). Every loan or purchase has to go into an electronic database the police chief designates, with the borrower's or seller's name, address, date of birth, race, sex, and photo ID number, plus a description of the item down to make, model, and serial number; entries are due by 11:00 a.m. the day after the transaction (Secs. 16-144, 16-145). Pawnbrokers give a free ticket or receipt for every transaction (Sec. 16-146), and interest tops out at 2 percent monthly on the unpaid balance plus a service fee capped at one-fifth of the loan's value for storage, insurance, and reporting costs (Sec.
16-148). A pawned item can be sold 60 days after the loan matures, but only after 10 days' mailed notice to the pledgor (Sec. 16-147). Purchased items must sit for five business days, available for law-enforcement inspection, before resale (Sec. 16-153). Sections 16-161 and 16-162's daily reporting duties do not double up on a pawnbroker already reporting under this article (Sec. 16-152).
Violations & Fines
Sec. 16-150 makes any violation of Article VI a Class A misdemeanor, with a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $500 for each offense, and every separate violation is charged separately. The city can also revoke or forfeit a pawnbroker's license for any violation, on top of the criminal fine, and failing to make the 11:00 a.m. daily database entry is itself chargeable under the same penalty section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a pawnbroker in Owensboro accept an item from a minor?
How much interest can an Owensboro pawnbroker charge?
What records must a pawnbroker keep?
When can a pawnbroker sell an unredeemed pledge?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Owensboro
Compare Owensboro to another location·View the Kentucky business licensing & operations overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.