Stafford County, VA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 14 of the county code defines a 'junk dealer' broadly under Section 14-1 to cover anyone in the business of purchasing, selling, bartering, or exchanging secondhand articles, junk, rags, bones, bottles, scrap metals, old pipe, old bathroom fixtures, and similar commodities, but it carves out paper and furniture, clothes, shoes, and stoves intended for resale, and it does not reach used motor vehicle dealers. Article II requires a current license from the Board of Supervisors before anyone can operate as a junk dealer in the county, under Section 14-26, and Section 14-31 sets the annual fee at $400, payable before issuance or renewal and never prorated or abated.

Getting licensed is not just a fee: Section 14-29 requires every applicant, or a beneficial-owner officer if the applicant is a corporation, to be photographed and fingerprinted by the sheriff's department and to have their record reviewed for prior convictions, and Section 14-30 lets the Board withhold a license until it is satisfied of the applicant's good character based on that sheriff's report. Section 14-6 requires a $5,000 bond with a corporate surety before the license takes effect. , Section 14-10 requires the dealer to check a valid driver's license plus one more form of identification before buying anything, and Section 14-11 bars any purchase from a minor unless a parent or guardian is present.

, including sellers' names, addresses, and dates of birth, and to hold purchased property for five working days before disposing of it or changing its form. Canvassers working for a licensed dealer need their own license under Section 14-8 and must display numbered metal signs on their vehicle.