Portland, ME Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing authority
- Dept. of Permitting and Inspections
- Police report deadline
- 48 hours after transaction
- Purchase hold period
- 10 days before resale/alteration
- Disqualifier
- Felony-level conviction within 5 years
- Police stolen-property hold
- Up to 90 days
- Default fine range
- $100–$500 per offense (Sec. 1-15)
Summary
Pawnbrokers in Portland must hold a city license, keep sworn transaction statements on every article pawned or pledged, report to the police chief within 48 hours, and hold outright purchases for at least ten days before resale or alteration.
(a) Pawnbrokers. Every pawnbroker, at the time of receiving any article pawned, pledged or received in exchange, or any other article or consideration, shall give the pawnor a statement that the pawnbroker will return the article at a stipulated price which shall be computed in accordance with the requirements of 30-A M.R.S.A., Chapter 183, Subchapter 6, and shall complete a sworn statement, blanks for which shall be furnished by the chief of police, stating the full name, age, sex and address of the person with whom the transaction is being made, the day and hour when the transaction took place, and a full, accurate and detailed description including all distinguishing marks and numbers of each article so pawned, pledged or exchanged as will make its identification certain and plain... and within forty-eight (48) hours after the transaction shall electronically report the relevant information contained in the sworn statement to the chief of police or his or her designee... Articles purchased outright by pawnbrokers shall be retained on the premises not less than ten (10) days, unless sooner released by the chief of police.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 23, Secondhand Goods, Article II, Division 2 requires a license from the city before anyone may operate as a pawnbroker, junk dealer, junk collector, secondhand dealer or flea market seller (Sec. 23-26); applications go to the Department of Permitting and Inspections with the fee and procedures set out in Chapter 15 (Sec. 23-27), and a disqualifying criminal conviction, any offense punishable by more than a year's imprisonment, unless more than five years old, set aside, or pardoned, bars issuance (Sec. 23-28). Pawnbroker-specific duties sit in Sec.
A. Chapter 183, Subchapter 6, and complete a sworn statement on forms the chief of police supplies, recording the person's full name, age, sex, address, the date and hour of the transaction, and a detailed description of the article. Within 48 hours the pawnbroker must electronically report that information to the chief of police, retain the statement for inspection by any officer at any time, and hold any article purchased outright on the premises for not less than ten days unless the chief of police releases it sooner, no pawned, traded or sold article may be altered until police have had a chance to examine it.
Sec. 23-17 bars a pawnbroker from knowingly purchasing or exchanging goods with a minor. Sec. 23-19 requires posting a copy of the relevant state statutes and Chapter 23 in the shop along with an occupation sign in English, and Sec. 23-21 lets police place a hold of up to 90 days on property reasonably suspected to be stolen, with the pawnbroker barred from releasing it without written police authorization.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 23 has no separate penalty clause, so the citywide Sec. 1-15 general penalty applies to a pawnbroker's failure to license, record, or report: a fine of $100 to $500 per offense, with each day of continuing violation charged as a separate offense. Operating without the required license under Sec. 23-26, or failing to make the 48-hour electronic report or observe the 10-day retention hold under Sec. 23-18(a), each exposes the operator to that fine in addition to any license action the Department of Permitting and Inspections may take under Chapter 15.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Portland require a license to operate as a pawnbroker?
What records must a Portland pawnbroker keep?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Portland
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