Somerville, MA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Section 8-60 of the Code of Ordinances states flatly that "no person shall operate at any time as a pawnbroker," and defines a pawnbroker as one who takes temporary possession of personal property and lends money against it, with the property subject to sale if the loan is not repaid within a set time. This prohibition sits at the head of Article III, "Secondhand and Consignment Dealers," which the city council entirely repealed and re-enacted by Ord. No. 2021-23 on September 23, 2021 (the prior article, derived from Code 1963 §§ 11-40 through 11-47 and amendments through 2019, covered similar ground).

The current text traces to Code 1963 § 11-43 and Ord. No. 2006-09 (April 11, 2006) and Ord. No. 2021-16 (July 8, 2021) before the 2021 recodification. Because pawnbroking itself is banned, the city instead licenses two related but distinct trades under the same article: second hand dealers and consignment dealers. A second hand dealer must obtain a license from the city council (Sec. 8-62), file an application with the city clerk disclosing consumer complaints and authorizing a CORI check, pay a council-set fee, and renew annually, since each license runs only until the following April 30 unless revoked sooner; licenses are non-transferable and can be modified, suspended, or revoked for cause after notice and hearing.

Dealers must also retain any "precious item" (gold, silver, platinum, or serial-numbered goods) for at least 30 days before disposing of it (Sec. 8-63), and must let Somerville police, state troopers, or other law enforcement inspect merchandise and three years of transaction records on request (Sec. 8-64). None of these licensing or recordkeeping mechanisms apply to pawnbroking, since that activity cannot legally be conducted in the city at all.