Canyon County, ID Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Canyon County Code § 05-05-05 defines a secondhand dealer as anyone in the business of buying, selling, trading, consignment-selling or otherwise transferring secondhand personal property for value, including metal junk, melted metals and precious metals; the definition reaches people who run booths at a flea market or swap meet more than three times a year, but excludes dealers who only take new-for-old trade-ins. A secondhand operator working under someone else's licensed booth space is not separately licensed, but must still copy every record required by § 05-05-11 and hand the copies to the licensed dealer daily.

Under § 05-05-11, every secondhand dealer must keep a permanent record book, in English, for each transaction, recording the customer's signature, date, the employee who handled it, the customer's name, date of birth, sex, height, weight, race, address and phone number, a complete description of the property including brand, model and serial number, and, for firearms, the caliber, barrel length, type of action, and whether it is a pistol, rifle or shotgun. The record must also show the identifying government-issued photo ID used, the price paid, and the street address the property was last removed from.

That book stays open to Sheriff inspection during business hours, and under § 05-05-13 the dealer must send the Sheriff a daily transcript of transactions on request, plus report any property the dealer has good cause to believe is stolen. Property bought or received on consignment cannot leave the place of business, except to be returned to its owner, for thirty days after receipt under § 05-05-19. A secondhand dealer must also hold a fixed place of business in the County or the State under § 05-05-09. This licensing scheme does not extend inside Caldwell or Nampa.