Spokane Valley, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Under SVMC § 5.20.020, it is unlawful to operate as a pawnbroker in Spokane Valley without first obtaining a license, and no license may be issued to anyone under 18 years old or to a corporation whose managing agent is underage. Licenses are issued by the Spokane Valley Police Department and run from issuance through December 31 of that year (SVMC § 5.20.030), meaning every pawnbroker relicenses annually. Every pawnbroker must keep a permanent English-language record of each transaction, including the customer's name, age, physical description, government-issued photo ID number, a digital photograph taken from no more than five feet away, and a full description of the item pawned, including serial numbers and identifying marks (SVMC § 5.20.040).

Those records must be open to police inspection during business hours, or with 12 hours' notice, and kept for three years (SVMC § 5.20.050). Pawnbrokers must also electronically transmit a transcript of the prior day's transactions to the police department (SVMC § 5.20.060). Property held as loan security cannot be sold until 90 days after the redemption period expires (SVMC § 5.20.080), and pawned goods can be held by police for 21 days on verbal notice or 120 days on written notice if reported stolen (SVMC § 5.20.100). Every pawnbroker must also carry a City business registration (SVMC § 5.20.120).