Burke County, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Sec. 26-136 defines the article's reach: it applies to all scrap metal companies or individuals doing business as a recycling center in the county that deal in copper, aluminum, lead, titanium, steel, iron, gold, silver or other recyclable metals, for the purpose of business as a secondhand dealer or recycling center, wherever materials are exchanged for money or other compensation. Sec. 26-137 requires those businesses to make a copy of the transaction invoice available to any law enforcement agent with jurisdiction in the county. Sec.

26-138 lists nine required fields on every transaction receipt: the seller's full name and address, the transaction date, the weight of metal purchased, the amount paid, the business's name, address, phone and invoice number, a description of the item and metal type, the seller's driver's license or ID number, and signatures of both parties. Sec. 26-139 requires invoices in numeric sequence, with a copy of any voided invoice provided to law enforcement. Sec. 26-140 layers on the state copper-transport rule: a business may not accept 25 pounds or more of copper without the seller producing a transport permit or letter from the sheriff, and splitting a transaction into smaller tickets to evade the threshold, the code's own example is three 24-pound tickets to hide 72 pounds, is treated as deceptive and a violation.