Davis, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Annual license tax
- $600 per year
- Governing article
- Davis Municipal Code Art. 19.04
- Applies to
- Fixed-location junk/used-goods dealers
- Enforcing office
- City collector, with police assistance
- Violation classification
- Infraction under § 19.05.060
Summary
Davis requires anyone running a fixed-location business buying or selling junk, rubbish, or used articles such as scrap metal, tires, and precious metals to hold a city business license and pay a $600 annual tax under the municipal code's business license tax schedule.
Junk dealers or dealers in old and/or used articles. Every person, at a fixed place of business in the city, engaged in the business of carrying on or collecting, buying or selling, at either retail or wholesale, or otherwise dealing in junk and/or rubbish, waste material, refuse and/or any old rags, sacks, bottles, cans, papers, metals, jewelry, precious metals, rubber, bric-a-brac, cordage, truck or automobile tires, truck or automobile accessories and truck or automobile parts and other like articles, whether such can be sold or otherwise disposed of for the purpose of being treated, repaired or prepared so as to be used again in some other form, six hundred dollars per year.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4915048; v22 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
" The provision reaches anyone at a fixed place of business in the city who carries on, collects, buys, sells, or otherwise deals in junk, rubbish, waste material, refuse, old rags, sacks, bottles, cans, papers, metals, jewelry, precious metals, rubber, bric-a-brac, cordage, or used truck and automobile tires, accessories and parts, whether retail or wholesale, and whether the goods are resold as-is or repaired and prepared for reuse. The tax is six hundred dollars per year regardless of gross receipts, which is a flat category rate rather than the percentage-of-receipts formula that applies to most other businesses under this chapter.
010: it is unlawful to transact any business, trade, calling or occupation in the city without first paying the prescribed business license tax and complying with the article's other requirements, and a separate certificate is required for each distinct business type at each location. 010, and the collector may examine any place of business in the city to confirm the license schedule is being followed. 03: a first-time applicant files a written statement, and license renewal, statement audits, and confidentiality of financial information are all separately addressed there. 130.
Violations & Fines
Operating as a junk or secondhand dealer without first paying the $600 annual license tax violates Section 19.02.010's licensing requirement. Under Section 19.05.060, any violation of the business license chapter, or knowingly misrepresenting a material fact to obtain the license, is an infraction punishable as prescribed by law. The city may also pursue the unpaid tax and any penalty as a debt through civil action under Section 19.05.040, and remedies under Section 19.05.050 are cumulative, so the city is not limited to only one enforcement route.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a junk dealer license cost in Davis?
What kinds of businesses does the Davis junk dealer tax cover?
What happens if a secondhand dealer operates without a Davis business license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Davis
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