Santa Ana, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Santa Ana Municipal Code § 25-1 defines a pawnbroker as any person meeting the definition in California Financial Code § 21000. Under § 25-6, that person must file a written application with the Chief of Police stating name, age, residence address, proposed business address, other business interests, a full account of any prior criminal convictions, the number and names of employees, and must submit himself and each employee for photographs and fingerprints. Section 25-7 requires the chief to refuse the certificate if the applicant knowingly made a material misstatement or if the applicant or any proposed employee was convicted of a violation of state pawnbroker/secondhand-dealer law, or of theft, receiving stolen property, embezzlement, fraud, false pretenses, or a crime of moral turpitude bearing a reasonable connection to the business.

A certificate already issued can be revoked for failing to maintain the standards required for issuance, and no one may carry on the business, or employ anyone who would be disqualified, without both the certificate and an employee clearance from the chief. A denial or revocation may be appealed to the City Council under the uniform hearing procedure in Chapter 3 (§ 25-8). Section 25-9 requires every pawnbroker to hold each item for at least 21 days after reporting it to police, keep it available for police inspection, and comply with any police hold order extending that period up to 90 days when the item is needed as evidence or to let a true owner reclaim stolen property.

Citywide, § 1-17 lists "Pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers" among the licenses subject to conviction-based disqualification, letting the licensing authority weigh mitigating factors such as time elapsed and evidence of rehabilitation. Pawnbrokers are taxed as retailers under Chapter 35 per § 25-12.