Anaheim, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Sec. 010 sets a $250 annual license tax for anyone conducting the business of secondhand dealer, junk dealer or collector, auto wrecker, or recycler. An auto wrecker is defined as anyone who buys a vehicle to dismantle it or who dismantles vehicles for resale of the parts or materials; a junk dealer is anyone buying, selling or storing rags, sacks, bottles, cans, papers, metals or other junk articles at wholesale or retail; a recycler covers any person or reverse vending machine buying or selling recyclable products, and each separate location needs its own license.

64 adds the substantive dealer duties on top of the tax: Sec. 020 requires every secondhand dealer to report all property purchased, taken in trade, taken on consignment or accepted for auction to the Chief of Police by noon the day after acquisition, using the free forms the Chief of Police supplies under Sec. 040. Sec. 060 requires the dealer to hold reported property for 30 days from the report date, extendable in writing by a police officer to up to 90 days if the item is suspected stolen, and releasable only with written police authorization.

Sec. 070 requires a complete transaction record open to law enforcement inspection at all times, kept in English under Sec. 050. The chapter exempts used-vehicle dealers and secondhand clothing sellers entirely, and Sec. 030 carves out narrower exceptions for bulk business liquidations, court-ordered sales, government surplus and inter-dealer transfers already reported, provided the dealer documents the exemption and notifies the Chief of Police.