Bensalem, PA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 234 of the Bensalem Township Code defines a "secondhand dealer or antique dealer" as any business, itinerant merchant included, that purchases or appraises secondhand or used goods for resale, and folds that business into the broader "dealer" category alongside pawnbrokers and precious-metals dealers. Section 234-2 bars anyone from acting as a dealer without a license from the Township Building and Planning Department for each business location and without paying an annual $200.00 registration fee per location. Section 234-3 forces dealers to log every purchase, sale, and pledge in English, capturing date, time, location, make, model, serial number, description, color, distinguishing marks, price paid, and a photocopy of the seller's government ID; those records, plus a color photo of unmarked items, must stay on file for two years.

Section 234-7 adds a daily electronic upload requirement to a Police Department-designated database, and the Township may charge dealers up to $400.00 per location to fund that inventory-tracking system. Section 234-8 requires dealers to hold every item, unaltered and segregated from other inventory, for ten working days so officers can inspect it without a warrant during business hours, and section 234-9 flatly bans any transaction with a person under 18. Section 234-6 requires a dealer who suspects an item is stolen to seize it, issue a seizure receipt, and turn the item and receipt over to the Township Police Department immediately.