Alachua County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Registers with
- Alachua County Sheriff
- Holding period
- 15 days from purchase
- Hold order extension
- up to 5 additional days
- Record retention
- 3 years
- Purchase records due
- within 24 hours
- General penalty
- up to $500 fine / 60 days jail
Summary
Alachua County requires anyone buying, selling or dealing in secondhand jewelry, precious metals, coins or similar goods, including pawnshops, to register with the county sheriff, log every purchase for three years, and hold each item 15 days before resale.
Sec. 62.02. Registration required. No person shall engage in, manage, conduct or carry on the business described in section 62.01 without first registering with the sheriff of the county. The person desiring to engage in such business shall inform the sheriff of his name and home address, the name under which he shall operate the business, and the address of the business.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
08). 03, every dealer must log each purchase, the seller's name, address, signature and driver's license or other ID number, a description and estimated quantity of the item, and the date and price, retain those records for three years, keep them open to inspection by any law enforcement officer, and submit a copy of each purchase record to the sheriff's office within 24 hours. 04. 06 can extend the hold up to five more days, and disposing of the item against that order is unlawful.
07 makes it a chapter violation to clean, repair, melt, alter, destroy, sell, export or otherwise dispose of a covered item before the 15-day (or extended) holding period expires. 00, up to 60 days in jail, or both, per offense.
Violations & Fines
Operating without registering with the sheriff, giving false seller information on a purchase record, failing to submit purchase records to the sheriff's office within 24 hours, or disposing of/melting/reselling an item before the 15-day hold (or an extended hold order) expires are each violations of Chapter 62, enforceable under the county's general penalty at Section 10.08: up to a $500.00 fine, 60 days in jail, or both, per offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 15-day hold apply to pawnshops?
What happens if police flag an item during the hold?
What records must a dealer keep?
Can a dealer resell an item before 15 days if a customer asks?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alachua County
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