Tamarac, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- State act adopted
- Florida Pawnbroking Act made part of City Code
- License
- Separate business tax receipt per pawnshop
- Hours curfew
- No operation midnight to 6:00 a.m.
- Enforcement
- Broward Sheriff's Office polices by contract
- Default penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 90 days
Summary
In the City of Tamarac, pawnbrokers must hold a separate local business tax receipt for each pawnshop and operate under the state's Florida Pawnbroking Act, which the City Code adopts outright. Shops cannot open between midnight and 6:00 a.m., and running one without a receipt is unlawful under Chapter 12, Article XII.
The Florida Pawnbroking Act is hereby adopted by the city and made a part of this Code. ... It shall be unlawful for any pawnbroker to engage in any such business within the corporate limits without first obtaining from the city a business tax receipt. A separate business tax receipt is required for each pawnshop. ... No pawnshop may operate during the hours between midnight and 6:00 a.m.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 12, Article XII of the Tamarac City Code governs pawnbrokers. Sec. 12-216 adopts the Florida Pawnbroking Act and makes it part of the City Code, pulling the state's recordkeeping, hold-period, and reporting rules for pawned property into local law. Sec. 12-217 separately requires every pawnbroker to obtain a City of Tamarac local business tax receipt before engaging in the business, and requires a separate receipt for each pawnshop; operating without one is unlawful. Sec. 12-218 sets a curfew on hours: no pawnshop may operate between midnight and 6:00 a.m.
None of the three sections states its own dollar penalty, so a violation falls back on the Code's general penalty in Sec. 1-13: a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to ninety days, or both, with each day a violation continues charged as a separate offense. Community Development's business tax office issues and tracks the local receipts required by Sec. 12-217, while the Broward Sheriff's Office, which polices the city under contract, is positioned to check compliance with the midnight-to-6:00-a.m. curfew and the state Pawnbroking Act reporting duties Sec.
12-216 incorporates. Because Sec. 12-216 makes the state act part of the City Code rather than merely referencing it, pawnbrokers in Tamarac answer to both the city's local receipt and hours rules and the substantive transaction, hold-period, and law-enforcement-reporting requirements the Florida Pawnbroking Act itself imposes on pawn transactions.
Violations & Fines
Operating a pawnshop without a Tamarac local business tax receipt, or without a separate receipt for each location, violates Sec. 12-217. Opening between midnight and 6:00 a.m. violates the Sec. 12-218 curfew. Neither section fixes its own fine, so Sec. 1-13's general penalty applies: up to $500, up to 90 days in jail, or both, with continuing violations counted daily.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Tamarac pawnbrokers need a separate license for each store?
What hours can a pawnshop operate in Tamarac?
Does Tamarac have its own pawnbroking law, or does state law apply?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tamarac
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