Fairfield, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing agency
- Chief of Police, Fairfield Police Department
- Background check
- Fingerprinting and moral-character investigation, FMC §13.5
- License fee
- Nonrefundable, City Council resolution; renewed yearly
- Business hours
- Closed Sundays, holidays, 6 p.m.-9 a.m., FMC §13.14
- Recordkeeping
- Bound book of daily transaction reports, FMC §13.6
- Revocation
- City Council hearing for unreturned stolen property, §13.15
Summary
Fairfield requires anyone buying, selling, or taking in pawn used tangible personal property to hold a secondhand dealer license from the Chief of Police under City Code Chapter 13. Applicants must be fingerprinted and investigated before a license issues, pay a nonrefundable fee set by City Council resolution, and renew annually with a fresh fee, all before opening for business defined under Business and Professions Code section 21626.
“Secondhand dealer” shall have the meaning ascribed to it by Business and Professions Code section 21626. ... Prior to the granting of any license to engage in any business defined in Business and Professions Code section 21626, the applicant shall file with the chief of police a written, completed and signed application setting forth all of the information required by the State of California and such other information as the chief of police may reasonably require to enforce this chapter. Every application for a license shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee designated by City Council Resolution. This application fee shall be in addition to any other business license fee or permit fee imposed by the Fairfield City Code. Renewal of a license is required yearly and must be accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee designated by City Council Resolution.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2026-02, passed February 17, 2026).
Full Breakdown
1, covers anyone buying, selling, trading, taking in pawn, or auctioning used tangible personal property. 4 requires a written, signed application disclosing everything the State of California demands plus anything else the chief needs to enforce the chapter, accompanied by a nonrefundable application fee set by City Council resolution; renewal is required every year with its own fee. 5 adds a fingerprinting and background step: the applicant is fingerprinted, the print is filed with the police department, and the chief investigates the applicant's moral character before recommending approval.
8 requires every reported item to carry a numbered tag matching the bound book. 12 bars taking property in pawn, purchase, or exchange from anyone who appears intoxicated or from a minor under eighteen, unless the minor's parent has signed written consent that the dealer keeps on file. m.
Violations & Fines
A dealer who fails to return property found to belong to a third party, as section 13.15 requires, faces license cancellation after written charges and a hearing before the City Council. Because the license is issued under Business and Professions Code section 21642, the Chief of Police can also declare it forfeited outright; a dealer aggrieved by a forfeiture or revocation may appeal under sections 12.413 through 12.422 of the City Code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a separate license to operate as a pawnbroker in Fairfield?
What happens during the background check for a Fairfield secondhand dealer license?
Can a Fairfield secondhand shop stay open late around Christmas?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fairfield
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