Catoosa County, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Category
- Dealers in precious metals, § 70-175(1)(j)
- Chapter 62 status
- Art. I reserved; only junkyards regulated
- Fee amount
- Table 1.3: 'None at this time'
- Due / delinquent
- Jan. 1 due, delinquent Mar. 1
- Late penalty
- 10% plus 1.5%/month interest
Summary
Chapter 62 Secondhand Goods has no general dealer-licensing article in unincorporated Catoosa County (only a junkyard article survives); the county's only regulation of secondhand-type dealers is the Sec. 70-175(1)(j) regulatory fee on 'Dealers in precious metals,' whose Table 1.3 fee amount is currently blank.
(1)Applicability. ... Pursuant to the authority granted in O.C.G.A. § 48-13-8(a), there is hereby imposed a regulatory fee upon the following categories of businesses, professions, practitioners and occupations transacting business within the unincorporated areas of the county: ... (j)Dealers in precious metals; ... (3)Collection and payment of regulatory fees.(a)The regulatory fee required hereunder shall be due in the amount and according to the schedule set forth on Table 1.3 which is attached hereto and made a part hereof. No portion of the regulatory fee shall include a separate administration fee. ... TABLE 1.3 None at this time.
Full Breakdown
Catoosa County's Chapter 62, titled Secondhand Goods, keeps Article I 'In General' entirely reserved and regulates only junkyards in Article II; there is no county ordinance licensing general secondhand or pawn-type merchandise dealers. The one place the code touches this trade is Sec. 70-175(1)(j), which lists 'Dealers in precious metals' among the businesses subject to a countywide regulatory fee, alongside pawnbrokers and scrap metal processors, because the county customarily inspects or investigates these operations to protect public health and safety. Sec. 70-175(3)(a) directs that the fee be charged 'in the amount and according to the schedule set forth on Table 1.3,' with no separate administration fee layered on top, but Table 1.3 in Sec.
70-180 currently reads 'None at this time,' meaning the Board of Commissioners has not yet set a dollar figure for that schedule. The fee, when set, is meant only to offset the actual cost of the county's regulatory activity rather than raise general revenue, per Sec. 70-175(2), and is due annually on January 1, becoming delinquent March 1 under Sec. 70-175(3)(b). A precious-metals dealer with multiple fixed locations in the unincorporated county is treated as a separate business at each location for fee purposes under Sec. 70-175(4).
Violations & Fines
Once a fee is delinquent, Sec. 70-177(2)'s general penalties apply: ten percent of the amount due plus interest of one and one-half percent per month until paid. The county manager may demand inspection of business records within 30 days under Sec. 70-177(1), and Sec. 70-178 channels enforcement to the magistrate court, treating continued unlicensed operation as a separate offense for each day it continues.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does unincorporated Catoosa County license secondhand or junk dealers?
How much is the precious-metals dealer regulatory fee?
What happens if the fee later becomes delinquent?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Catoosa County
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