Augusta-Richmond County, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

The certificate requirement in § 6-6-3 covers Brokers, Pawnbrokers, Book Dealers, Dealers in Precious Metals or Gems and Itinerant Dealers in Precious Metals or Gems alike, and § 6-6-4 makes it stack on top of, not replace, the general Title 2, Chapter 1 business tax certificate: where the secondhand-goods chapter sets a tougher rule, that rule controls. Section 6-6-6 spells out the sworn application: the kind and name of the business, its address and phone number, the applicant's home address for the preceding six months, Social Security number, every person with a financial interest in the business, the landlord's name and contact information, and whether the applicant or anyone connected with the business has been convicted of a crime (other than minor traffic offenses) or served time in a correctional institution, with two Richmond County residents required to vouch for the applicant's character.

Under § 6-6-7, the applicant must pay the regulatory fee set in § 2-1-3(c) before starting business. § 43-43-1. Once licensed, § 6-6-10 requires every transaction entered into the Sheriff's electronic reporting system within one hour of closing, and § 6-6-11 requires photographing goods, fingerprinting sellers and verifying government-issued photo ID, with records kept on premises for at least one year and available to the Sheriff for four years. Minors under 17 may not sell or pawn goods under § 6-6-14, and flea market vendors and dealers in books, DVDs, CDs, cassettes and audio records are carved out of the recordkeeping rules by §§ 6-6-1(g) and 6-6-13.