Youngstown, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

In the City of Youngstown, Ohio, Section 757.01 of the Codified Ordinances defines a pawnbroker as anyone in the business of lending money on pledged personal property with a right of repurchase, or of purchasing precious or semi-precious metals or jewelry. Section 757.04 requires every pawnbroker to keep a numbered, ink-written ledger in English recording each pledged, deposited or purchased article, along with the depositor's name, residence and the time of the transaction; entries cannot be erased or defaced. Section 757.05 makes that ledger open at all times to inspection by the Police Chief, a deputized officer, or the Mayor.

Section 757.06 requires the pawnbroker to deliver a full daily copy of the ledger to the Police Chief before midnight each day. Section 757.07 then bars selling, redeeming or removing any pledged item for 24 hours after that daily report has been delivered. Section 757.08 sets a minimum age of 16 for any employee taking pledges in pawn. Section 757.09 prohibits taking pledges or purchases from minors, intoxicated persons, habitual drunkards, known thieves, or anyone unable to furnish complete proof of ownership, and it separately bars accepting a tool or instrument bearing another person's initials or insignia without proof of ownership.

Every pawnbroker license terminates at midnight on December 31 of the year issued under Section 757.02 and is void if transferred under Section 757.03. Section 757.99 makes any violation of the chapter a fourth-degree misdemeanor, with each day of continued violation a separate offense.