Chapel Hill, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances Article VI (Sec. 10-130 to Sec. 10-134) defines a secondhand precious metal dealer as anyone whose business is buying or trading secondhand articles made in whole or part of gold, silver or platinum; coins and gold or silver ingots or bars are excluded from the definition of secondhand article. Under Sec. 10-131, every dealer must keep a tightly bound book with sequentially numbered pages recording, for each purchase or trade, a description of the item including manufacturer's name, model, model number, serial number and any engraved marking, the price paid, the transaction date, and the seller's full name, residence address, date of birth and source of identification.

Those records must stay on the dealership premises for one year and be open to inspection during business hours by any law enforcement officer with arrest jurisdiction in Chapel Hill. Section 10-132 separately requires the dealer to hold every purchased gold, silver or platinum article, unaltered in appearance, for ten days after the trade so officers can inspect it before it can be resold or reworked. The Chapel Hill Police Department is the enforcing agency; the article took effect January 1, 1981 and applies to transactions from that date forward. Anyone who fails to keep the ledger, denies inspection, or alters an article within the ten day hold violates the article.