San Marcos, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

28, Secondhand Dealers/Pawnbrokers, opens with a City Council finding that pawnbroker and secondhand businesses provide a means of disposing of stolen goods and that law enforcement investigations show new, used and stolen property moving through them, which is why the chapter subjects such businesses to added controls (Sec. 010). The chapter's stated intent is to prevent pawnbrokers from becoming depositories for stolen goods while staying consistent with the State's own uniform regulation of secondhand goods dealers (Sec. 020). "Pawnbroker" is defined by cross-reference to California Financial Code Section 21000 (Sec.

040(c)), and the State Secondhand Dealer/Pawnbroker Regulations incorporated into the chapter are Financial Code Division 8, Sections 21000-21307, governing pawnbrokers specifically. Sec. 050 requires a pawnbroker to first obtain a State pawnbroker license from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, acting as Issuing Authority, before conducting business, and then obtain a separate City business license, providing a copy of the State license along with any other documentation the City's Issuing Officer requires. A pawnbroker may not clean, alter, repair, paint or otherwise change the appearance of pledged or purchased property until the holding period required by the chapter has run or the Sheriff's Department releases it, and that property must remain available for public view during business hours throughout the hold (Sec.

060). Pawnbroker operations are also barred anywhere the zoning ordinance prohibits them or in any structure that does not meet building code requirements (Sec. 070).