Canton, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Canton Codified Ordinances Chapter 743 defines junk as scrap metal, rope, rags, batteries, paper, rubber, lumber and similar materials held for resale, reuse or remelting, and covers junk yards, scrap yards, scrap metal processing facilities and recycling facilities operating anywhere within the corporate limits. Salvage motor vehicle yards that exchange vehicle titles, and recycling facilities that pay nothing for material, are excluded under 743.02(b). The Director of Public Safety's License Bureau issues the license only if the operator complies with the City's Zoning Ordinances and all other applicable ordinances and state law, and the Director can revoke it for any violation of Chapter 743 or for any other reason the Director finds legally sufficient, following due process.

A separate license is required for each location, and the license must be posted with the name and contact information of the person in charge. Under 743.07, dealers must keep a purchase log with the seller's name, address, phone number, transaction date and hour, a photocopy of a photo ID and the license plate of the vehicle used, and must fingerprint a seller unfamiliar to the dealer on any purchase over $100. Records stay open to inspection by the Director, Chief of Police or their designees for three years.

Scrap titanium must be held in its original form for 72 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, before it can be altered or resold. Dealers cannot buy from minors except aluminum cans worth $10 or less, cannot buy suspected government property (utility meters, traffic lights, stop signs, guardrails, street signs) without a bona fide receipt, and cannot buy metal marked with a registered proprietary color without proof of transfer. Business hours are capped at 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and storing junk or scrap without a license, or in a way that becomes a public nuisance, is separately prohibited under 743.11.