Providence, RI Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Section 14-155 of the Providence Code of Ordinances makes pawnbroking a licensed business. A person who engages in business as a pawnbroker in the city without first procuring a license from the bureau of licenses is breaking the law, and the code draws no line between a new shop and an established one: the license comes first. Section 14-156 sets the price at $200.00 as the annual charge for each pawnbroker's license. The history line printed under that section ends with Ord. No. 2025-23, § 3, adopted 6-26-25, so $200.00 is the figure in the current edition of the code. The charge applies to each license and recurs every year.

The rest of Article VIII attaches conditions to that license. Under § 14-157, every licensee must display the license in a conspicuous place in the premises it operates. Under § 14-158, the license authorizes only the person named in it to act under it, and it is not transferable, so a buyer who takes over a pawnshop cannot step into the seller's license. Section 14-160 requires a licensed pawnbroker to keep and maintain appropriate books and records of the business, and those records must at all times be open to inspection by the chief of police, the deputy chief of police, or any other person either of them authorizes.

Section 14-161 adds an identification rule for the people who sell goods to a pawnbroker. The licensee must require the seller to present a valid motor vehicle operator's license containing a photograph, or other suitable identification containing a photograph. The licensee must also obtain a clear and identifiable print or impression of the seller's right thumb, and must maintain a record of the same, together with any other records required by law.

Article VIII opens with a State Law reference to chapter 19-26 of the Rhode Island General Laws of 1956, which covers the licensing and regulation of pawnbrokers. Section 14-159 ties the city license to that wider framework by making a licensee answerable for rules governing the conduct of pawnbrokers established by the bureau of licenses or by the state.