Santa Fe, NM Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Santa Fe licenses pawnbrokers under City Code Section 18-4, which also covers secondhand dealers, junk dealers, core recyclers and precious metal dealers. 3 requires an applicant for a pawnbroker's license to be of good moral character; the city clerk must deny anyone convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude, and anyone whose prior pawnbroker license, or a business license held by a company they controlled, was revoked for cause. 4, every application goes to the Santa Fe police department for a background investigation, including fingerprints and photographs, and the clerk may issue the license only after receiving a favorable police report; a denied applicant can appeal to the governing body under Section 18-1.

5 requires a $5,000 surety bond, approved by the city clerk and city attorney, conditioned on faithful observance of the code, before any license issues. 6 obligates the pawnbroker to file a daily report with the police department listing every item pledged or purchased the prior business day, including the item's description, serial number, and the seller's name, address, physical description and ID number. 9 requires an 18-month retention of transaction records, open to inspection by city, county and state law enforcement during business hours. m. 10(A)(16) sets the annual fee at $250 per place of business.