Lake County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Report deadline
- Before 10:00 a.m. every Monday
- Report recipient
- Lake County Sheriff
- Record retention
- Complete purchase/sale record, open to public
- Maximum fine
- $500
- Maximum jail term
- 6 months, County Jail
- Adopting ordinance
- Ord. No. 432 (1962)
Summary
Unincorporated Lake County requires every dealer in secondhand goods to report all weekly purchases to the Sheriff by 10 a.m. Monday and to keep a complete, publicly inspectable record of every purchase and sale under Code § 16-1.
Every dealer in second-hand goods, wares, and merchandise within the boundaries of the County of Lake and without the limits of any incorporated city or town must, before the hour of ten o'clock in the forenoon of each Monday, deliver to the Sheriff of the County of Lake a true report, in writing on blank forms to be prescribed by such Sheriff, setting forth a description of each and every article or thing purchased by him during the week immediately preceding such report, and also the name, residence and description of the vendor thereof, the amount of money paid therefor, and the date and hour of the receipt of such article or thing. ... Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by paying a fine in a sum not to exceed five hundred (500) dollars, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a term not exceeding six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Full Breakdown
County Code Chapter 16, Article I governs anyone dealing in secondhand goods, wares or merchandise within unincorporated Lake County (outside Clearlake and Lakeport, which run their own licensing). each Monday, on blank forms the Sheriff prescribes, describing every article purchased during the preceding week along with the seller's name, residence and description, the price paid, and the date and hour the item was received. Each Monday's report must pick up exactly where the prior Monday's report left off, so there is no gap in the paper trail.
Dealers must also keep a complete, ongoing record of every purchase and sale, and that ledger must stay open to public inspection at all times, not just when the Sheriff asks. Section 16-2 puts the administrative burden on the county: the Sheriff's office prints and supplies the report blanks free of charge and must reprint more as needed, subdivided with space for the required date fields, so a dealer's failure to report cannot be blamed on missing forms. This scheme, adopted by Ordinance No. 432 in 1962 and still in force, exists to give the Sheriff a running record of secondhand transactions in the unincorporated county so stolen property moving through pawn shops, junk dealers and similar buyers can be traced back to a specific date, seller and price.
Violations & Fines
Section 16-3 makes any violation a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to six months in the County Jail, or both. On top of the criminal penalty, a conviction automatically and immediately voids any county-issued license the violator holds, with no separate revocation hearing required; the license becomes null and void by operation of the conviction itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to file the weekly report with the Sheriff?
What has to be in the report?
Can the public see a dealer's purchase records?
What happens if a dealer ignores the reporting rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lake County
California rules heatmap·Compare Lake County to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
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