Boca Raton, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Bond required
- $10,000.00 surety bond
- Background check
- No felony conviction within 10 years
- Bond cancellation notice
- 30 days to city manager
- Automatic revocation
- Lapsed bond or felony conviction
- Relocation exception
- Existing shop need not re-bond
Summary
Boca Raton treats secondhand goods dealers as 'consignment shops' under Code of Ordinances § 8-58 and requires a $10,000.00 surety bond plus a clean felony record before the city will issue a business tax receipt or certificate of use, protecting customers who consign or buy used property through the shop.
Sec. 8-58. - Consignment shops; special requirements.(1)Prior to the payment of the business tax and issuance of a certificate of use when an applicant has applied for approval of a consignment shop, the applicant shall furnish:(a)A bond issued by a surety company qualified to do business in the state in the amount of $10,000.00. The original shall be filed with the city. The bond shall be payable to any individual who is injured by the fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract or financial failure of the applicant; and(b)Proof that the applicant (or, if the applicant is a corporation, any officers, directors or stockholders thereof) has not been convicted within the preceding 10 years of any felony in Florida or any other state or the United States.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 72 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
The code defines a consignment shop as a business that accepts secondhand goods on consignment for resale after the goods have passed from manufacturer to a first owner and back into commerce through a third party, excluding not-for-profit and home-occupation activity. 00 surety bond issued by a company qualified to do business in Florida, payable to any customer injured by the applicant's fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract or financial failure, and to prove that the applicant, or any officer, director or stockholder if the applicant is a corporation, has not been convicted of a felony in Florida, another state, or federally within the preceding 10 years.
Under subsection (2), the bond may not lapse or be canceled until 30 days after the city manager receives written notice from the surety. Subsection (3) automatically revokes the certificate of use if the operator fails to maintain and renew the bond annually, or if it is canceled or dishonored. Subsection (4) makes a felony conviction, as defined in the section, an automatic ground for revocation of any existing certificate, though an existing consignment shop that simply relocates within the city does not have to repeat the vetting.
Violations & Fines
A consignment shop that lets its $10,000.00 bond expire, get canceled or be dishonored has its certificate of use automatically revoked under section 8-58(3), and a felony conviction of the operator or a corporate officer, director or stockholder automatically revokes the certificate under section 8-58(4). Operating without a current certificate of use exposes the business to the certificate enforcement procedures in section 8-56, including closure by police services and a lien for enforcement costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Boca Raton require a bond to open a consignment or secondhand shop?
Can a felony conviction cost a consignment shop its license?
What counts as 'secondhand goods' under Boca Raton's code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boca Raton
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