Roanoke County, VA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Section 10-59 folds a state-law licensing scheme into the county code. 36 percent of the pawnbroker's gross receipts from the prior calendar year, the same rate used for other gross-receipts businesses under § 10-36. Subsection (c) makes clear the commissioner of the revenue cannot issue the license until the applicant produces a permit from the chief of police, and subsection (e) spells out what that permit application requires: the pawnbroker's full name and aliases, address, date of birth, social security number, fingerprints, the employer's name and phone number, and the shop's location, filed with a $200 fee payable to the Treasurer of Roanoke County.

Under subsection (f), the chief of police issues the permit unless the applicant has a felony or crime-of-moral-turpitude conviction within the past ten years, or has had a permit denied or revoked by Roanoke County or another jurisdiction for a similar reason; a refusal must be explained in writing and can be appealed to the circuit court within thirty days. Subsection (h) sets the permit and license term at two years, renewable for another $200 fee. Subsection (i) lets the chief of police revoke the permit for one full year after a pawnbroker's first conviction under the county code, and revocation is mandatory on a second conviction.

Subsection (k) requires a daily report, filed with the chief of police by noon the next day, of every item pawned, pledged or sold, naming the seller and describing the item; violating the reporting requirement is a Class 4 misdemeanor under subsection (k)(3).