Schenectady, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Chapter 189 of the City Code has the Office of Consumer Protection issue the pawnbroker license, which designates the specific address where the business may operate and covers the length of time named in the license. The $100 annual fee is paid to the City Treasurer immediately upon issuance under § 189-1. Before the license is handed over, § 189-3 requires the applicant to post a bond to the City in the penal sum of $10,000, executed with two sureties and approved by the Office of Consumer Protection; violating any bonded condition is grounds for revocation.

Once licensed, pawnbrokers must report in writing to the Chief of Police every day, describing all articles purchased or pledged in the preceding 24 hours, per § 189-4; that daily log is confidential and used only for detecting stolen property. Section 189-5 requires a signed memorandum to every customer at the time of a loan, at no extra charge, and § 189-6 keeps those books open to inspection by the Office of Consumer Protection, the City Judge, the Chief of Police and the Detective Bureau at all reasonable times.

Interest is capped by § 189-7: no more than 3% a month for the first six months and 2% thereafter on loans up to $100, or 2% and then 1% on larger loans, with no charge for storage. A pledged item cannot be sold until it has sat unredeemed for a full year, and then only at public auction advertised for six days in two City newspapers, with any surplus after the loan, interest and sale costs returned to the person who pledged it. Operating without the license is a separate violation of § 189-2, fined at $100 per day, and any breach of the sale procedure under § 189-7 is independent cause for the Office of Consumer Protection to revoke the license under § 189-3.