Seminole County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Hold period
- 10 days before resale or melting
- Register review
- Sheriff copy due by noon daily
- Minimum age to sell
- 18 years old
- Record retention
- 1 year per transaction
- Enforcing agency
- Seminole County Sheriff's Office
Summary
Seminole County requires every secondhand precious metals dealer, pawn shop, jeweler or itinerant buyer of gold, silver or platinum in the unincorporated county to keep a Sheriff-approved transaction register and hold every purchased item for ten full days before selling, melting or altering it. Dealers cannot buy from anyone under 18, and each item must stay attached to its bill of sale for inspection.
Any person engaged in business as a dealer shall keep a register in connection with his business, said register to be approved as to type and form by the Sheriff of Seminole County, and at the time of each transaction shall enter or cause to be entered therein an accurate description of the person from whom any article of personal property made of precious metal is purchased or received, and shall include in the description...the name, date of birth, sex, race, place of residence and driver's license or, if none, other government identification numbers of the person... The register shall at all times be kept open and available for the inspection and examination of the Sheriff of Seminole County... A copy of the register shall be retained for one year from the date of the last transaction recorded therein. ... Except for the exempt transactions hereinafter provided, no articles of personal property made of precious metals shall be sold, melted, altered, or otherwise disposed of by any dealer until ten days have elapsed from the time the Sheriff of Seminole County has had made available to him a copy or transcript of the register in which such articles of personal property made of precious metals are entered, and said articles shall not be transferred from within Seminole County during said ten day period of time.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 23 Update 1 | Land Development Code: Supplement 2).
Full Breakdown
57, governs anyone doing business in unincorporated Seminole County as a dealer in old, used or secondhand personal property made of gold, silver or platinum, including bullion coins. 52 defines a dealer as any person, firm or corporation buying, selling or otherwise dealing in used precious metals, whether from a fixed shop or as an itinerant. 53(a) requires every dealer to keep a transaction register in a form approved by the Sheriff of Seminole County, recording the seller's name, date of birth, sex, race, residence and driver's license or other government ID number for every transaction, along with a description of the item and any hallmark or engraving.
The register must stay open for the Sheriff's inspection at all times, and a copy of each entry must be kept for one year. 53(d). 54(a) then bars a dealer from selling, melting, altering or otherwise disposing of any purchased item, or moving it out of the county, until ten full days have passed after the Sheriff has been given a copy of the register entry. 55 requires dealers to deliver a copy of the prior day's register to the Sheriff by noon of each business day.
57 requires every purchased article to remain physically attached to its bill of sale so Sheriff's deputies can inspect stock during the ten-day hold. Exempt from the hold are trade-in credits toward a higher-value purchase and dealer-to-dealer transfers where the item was already registered and held for the required period.
Violations & Fines
Refusing to keep or produce the Sheriff-approved register, disposing of an item before the ten-day hold expires, moving purchased metal out of the county during that period, buying from a minor under 18, or failing to keep the bill of sale attached to the item are each separate violations enforceable by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, which may inspect any dealer's stock and register at any time without notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this rule apply to pawn shops in Sanford or Altamonte Springs?
How long must a dealer hold a purchased gold item before selling it?
What information must a dealer collect from a customer selling gold or silver?
Can a dealer buy precious metal items from a teenager?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Seminole County
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