Leon County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Holding period
- 30 calendar days before resale
- Minimum seller age
- Dealers may not buy from anyone under 18
- Register approval
- Format must be approved by the sheriff
- Transcript deadline
- Noon of the next business day
- Max penalty
- $500 fine or 60 days jail (Sec. 1-9)
Summary
Leon County requires anyone buying or selling secondhand precious metals or copper in the unincorporated area to keep a transaction register approved by the sheriff, verify each seller's identity, and hold every item 30 days before resale. Chapter 11, Article IV governs dealers in gold, silver, platinum, copper wire and copper communications cable, and bars any purchase from a seller under 18.
Any person engaged in business as a dealer shall keep a register in connection with his business, such register to be approved as to type and form by the sheriff, 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 or copper is purchased or received... It shall be unlawful for any customer to give or display false identification to the dealer or to sign a false name.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 12).
Full Breakdown
Under Sec. 11-91(a), every dealer must maintain a register, in a format the sheriff approves, recording the time, date and place of each transaction plus a full description of the goods: brand, model and serial numbers, size, color, precious-metal content, gemstone count, and for firearms the action type, caliber and barrel length. The dealer must also take digital photographs of the goods and record the seller's full name, address, workplace, physical description and right thumbprint, plus the type and issuing agency of the identification shown.
Sec. 11-91(c) makes it unlawful for a customer to hand over false identification or sign a false name. Sec. 11-92 requires the dealer to deliver a full transcript of the prior day's register to the sheriff by noon of the next business day. Sec. 11-93(a) bars selling, melting or altering any acquired item for 30 calendar days, with narrow exemptions for coin repurchases from the same seller, bullion-coin purchases, and dealer-to-dealer transfers where the item stays registered and in a local dealer's possession for the holding period.
Sec. 11-94 flatly prohibits buying, taking or receiving precious-metal or copper articles from anyone under 18. Sec. 11-95 requires goods to stay attached to their bill of sale and arranged so the sheriff's office can inspect stock during the 30-day hold. The article traces to Code 1980 §§ 14-31 through 14-37 and was last amended by Ord. No. 11-26 in 2011.
Violations & Fines
Article IV carries no dedicated fine schedule, so violations fall under Sec. 1-9's general penalty: conviction brings a fine up to $500.00, up to 60 days in the county jail, or both, and each day a dealer keeps an unapproved register or disposes of goods before the 30-day hold expires is a separate offense. A customer who displays false ID under Sec. 11-91(c) commits a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Leon County require a license to run a secondhand precious-metals business?
Can a Leon County pawn-style dealer buy jewelry and resell it the same day?
What has to go in a dealer's transaction register?
Does this article cover buying scrap copper wire?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Leon County
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