Skowhegan, ME Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

The Pawnbrokers / Precious Metals Dealers Ordinance was adopted August 8, 2000 and amended at Town Meeting on June 11, 2018. Section 1 defines a pawn transaction as the lending of money on the security of pledged tangible property, a pawnbroker as anyone in the business of engaging in pawn transactions, and a dealer as a person who buys, sells or exchanges secondhand precious metals. Precious metals means any item composed in whole or in part of gold, silver, palladium or platinum, with carve-outs for dental gold, unrefined metal ore, electronic products, motor vehicle mechanical parts, and gold or silver coins or bullion.

Section 2 requires registration and a permit under a written license granted by the Board of Selectmen and issued under the signature of the Town Clerk. A dealer must give the Town the address of its permanent place of business and notify the Town if the location changes. Section 3 ties the fee to the Application, License and Permit Fees Ordinance and makes the license valid for one year unless sooner revoked by the Board. The Town's license schedule in Chapter 9, Section 1(7), and its user fee schedule effective January 1, 2025, both list the pawnbroker fee at $55.00.

The operating rules are specific. Section 4 bars buying from or receiving goods in barter from a minor, meaning anyone under eighteen. Section 5 requires a sworn statement in duplicate for each transaction, a detailed description and digital photograph of each item (groups of 5 or fewer substantially similar items can share a photograph), and a signed statement of ownership. One copy goes to the chief of police before 10 a.m. of the next business day. Articles bought outright stay on the premises not less than fifteen days unless the chief releases them sooner. A precious metals dealer can sell or alter metals five business days after acquisition if they are not listed in an electronic database of stolen property. Section 6 requires records kept one year, and Section 7 requires a driver's license or official state identification card from the seller.