Bulloch County, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

5, Article III groups secondhand dealers with pawnbrokers, pawnshops and dealers in precious metals and gems under one regulatory scheme aimed, per Sec. 5-58, at impeding the sale of stolen property. Sec. 5-57 defines a secondhand dealer as any person whose principal business is purchasing, storing, selling, exchanging or receiving secondhand personal property of any kind, but excludes anyone whose principal business is reselling clothing or furniture, or reselling goods donated to the business as a charitable contribution. Like pawnbrokers, a secondhand dealer must hold a regulatory license under Sec.

5-60 before operating in the unincorporated area, and Sec. 5-62 requires the licensee to be at least 21 years old, of good moral character and free of a felony or moral-turpitude conviction within the past five years. Sec. 5-67 requires the dealer to record a seller's government-issued photo identification, physical description and a digital photograph, plus a description and photograph of the goods, for every transaction, and to keep that record for three years. Sec. 5-69 requires a daily transaction report filed electronically with the Bulloch County Sheriff's Department.

Sec. 5-71(b) specifically governs outright purchases: where a secondhand dealer buys goods taking full title, the goods must be held for at least five days before resale, transfer or shipment, a shorter window than the 30-day hold that applies to items taken in pawn. Sec. 5-70 also bars buying from or pawning with anyone under 18.