Butte County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Application fee
- $5, nonrefundable
- Records
- Sheriff-issued bound ledger
- Report
- Daily written report to Sheriff
- Hold period
- 10 days before resale
- Charitable exemption
- Nonprofit dealers exempt
- Prohibited hours
- Sundays & 6 p.m.-6 a.m.
Summary
Secondhand dealers doing business in unincorporated Butte County need a license under Code Chapter 11 before buying or reselling previously-owned goods, including antiques. Every dealer must keep a Sheriff-issued transaction ledger and file daily reports, and the county can refuse, suspend or revoke the license for any violation of the chapter.
"Secondhand dealer" is defined to be a person with a fixed place of business in the unincorporated area of the county, who conducts, manages or carries on the business of buying, selling, or otherwise dealing in miscellaneous secondhand goods, wares or merchandise which have been previously used or sold to a consumer, including antiques. ... Every junk dealer, secondhand dealer and pawnbroker shall keep in his place of business, and every junk collector shall keep in his possession while engaged in his business as a junk collector, a bound book provided by the sheriff in which he shall keep a written record in the English language of all purchases or other receipt and sale or other disposition of junk and secondhand goods made in the course of his business. Entry of each transaction shall be made at the time of the transaction.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 11 defines a secondhand dealer as anyone with a fixed place of business in the unincorporated county who buys, sells or otherwise deals in used goods, wares or merchandise previously owned or sold to a consumer, including antiques, a status that separates a dealer from a traveling peddler with no fixed location (Sec. 11-1). Operating without first obtaining a license from the license collector is unlawful (Sec. 11-11), and the application, referred to the Sheriff and the planning department, carries a five-dollar nonrefundable fee (Sec.
11-13). Fees for the license itself are set by Board of Supervisors resolution as part of the Master Fee Schedule and are adjusted periodically against the federal Employment Cost Index (Sec. 11-12). A dealer who also runs a junk business or pawnshop at the same time must be licensed for, and comply separately with, the rules for each business (Sec. 11-10). Charitable organizations incidentally engaged in secondhand dealing are exempt from the chapter entirely (Sec. 11-9). Every secondhand dealer must keep a bound record book, supplied by the Sheriff, logging in English every purchase and sale as it happens, including the item description, price, and the seller's name, address, occupation and signature (Secs.
11-6, 11-7); a written report of that activity goes to the Sheriff daily, and goods must stay exposed to public view for ten days after the report before the dealer may dispose of them (Secs. 11-3, 11-8). Dealers may not buy from an intoxicated person or from a minor under twenty-one without signed parental consent kept on file (Sec. any other day (Sec. 11-5). The Board of Supervisors can suspend or revoke a license for any violation (Sec. 11-19), and a license is void if transferred to another person (Sec. 11-21).
Violations & Fines
Failing to maintain the transaction ledger or file the Sheriff's daily report is a misdemeanor under Secs. 11-7 and 11-8, and dealing with intoxicated persons or unauthorized minors violates Sec. 11-2. Chapter 11 offenses including Secs. 11-2, 11-5, 11-6, 11-7, 11-8, 11-10 and 11-11 may be charged as infractions under Sec. 41-5 instead of the general $1,000 fine and six-month jail penalty set out in Sec. 1-7.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a 'secondhand dealer' under Butte County's code?
Do thrift stores run by a charity need this license?
How soon can a secondhand dealer resell an item after buying it?
What records must a secondhand store keep?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Butte County
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