Fontana, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required before
- Business license issued
- Report deadline
- Noon the day after acquisition
- Records retained
- 3 years, triplicate on-site
- ID assigned by
- Chief of police
- Covers
- Antique dealers and secondhand stores
Summary
Fontana secondhand stores and antique dealers must obtain a permit before getting a business license and report every item purchased, traded, or taken on consignment to the police chief by noon the next day, keeping a copy on file for three years for inspection.
(1)Antique dealer (secondhand store or dealers)...(16)Pawnbrokers, secondhand stores or dealers...d.Each person or business within the city, subject to this subsection, shall be issued a secondhand dealer number by the chief of police, or his designee, on or after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this article and at such time as a city business license is issued for such a business. A record of such number shall be maintained at the police department, and each number issued to a particular secondhand dealer shall be imprinted upon that dealer's forms which are submitted to the police department.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 64 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 17).
Full Breakdown
Fontana Municipal Code Sec. 15-50 requires a permit, obtained by written application, before any business license issues for a list of regulated trades, listing both "antique dealer (secondhand store or dealers)" as item (1) and "secondhand stores or dealers" again under item (16) alongside pawnbrokers. Subsection (16) sets the operating rules: a secondhand dealer must report all identifiable secondhand tangible personal property purchased, taken in trade, taken in for repair, accepted for consignment sale, or accepted for auction to the chief of police no later than 12:00 noon the day after the item was acquired, using a police department-approved form filed as an original plus two copies.
The dealer keeps the triplicate copy on-site for three years, open to inspection by any law enforcement officer, and bears the cost of printing the report forms, with the right to choose the printer. When the city issues the dealer's business license, the chief of police assigns a secondhand dealer identification number, which the department logs and requires printed on every report form the dealer submits, and separately reports to the state bureau of identification's property identification unit. Property listed in Business and Professions Code Sec.
21629(a) through (f) is excused from the reporting duty, and the police department must furnish the dealer copies of the applicable law when the identification number is issued.
Violations & Fines
Operating a secondhand store without the Sec. 15-50 permit, or skipping the required acquisition reports, is enforced under the business license article; Sec. 15-32 makes a violation of that article an infraction punishable as provided in Sec. 1-7.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an antique store in Fontana count as a secondhand dealer?
What must a Fontana secondhand dealer report to police?
How long must a Fontana secondhand dealer keep acquisition records?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fontana
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