Fort Myers, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Before doing business, § 18-223
- Bond
- Required to cover stolen-goods losses
- Holding period
- 15 days, extendable to 60
- Transaction report
- To police within 24 hours
- Record retention
- 5 years, § 18-236(d)
Summary
Fort Myers requires anyone buying, pawning, consigning, or dealing in secondhand goods to hold a city license, post a bond, and follow strict recordkeeping and holding-period rules.
No person shall engage in the business of a secondhand dealer, pawnbroker, junk dealer or precious metals dealer in the city, whether temporarily, irregularly or continually, or whether with a fixed place of business or as an itinerant peddler, without first having obtained a license from the city pursuant to section 82-205.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 60).
Full Breakdown
Under Fort Myers Code of Ordinances § 18-223, no one may engage in business as a secondhand dealer, pawnbroker, junk dealer, or precious metals dealer in the city, even temporarily or as an itinerant peddler, without a license issued under § 82-205. Licensees must post a bond covering losses from stolen goods (§ 18-225), report every transaction to the police department within 24 hours with the seller's ID and item description (§ 18-234), and hold acquired goods 15 calendar days before resale, extendable to 60 days on police probable cause of theft (§ 18-236). Records and inventory are subject to police inspection (§ 18-235). This applies inside Fort Myers city limits, not unincorporated Lee County.
Violations & Fines
Operating without a license, failing to file the 24-hour transaction record, or reselling goods inside the 15-day holding period can trigger license suspension or revocation; accepting goods without proper ID verification exposes the dealer to prosecution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do secondhand and pawn dealers need a license in Fort Myers?
How long must a Fort Myers secondhand dealer hold purchased goods before reselling?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fort Myers
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Secondhand Dealers in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Lee County handle secondhand dealers.