Collier County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Hold period
- 30 calendar days before resale
- Ineligible buy locations
- Hotel room, vehicle, P.O. box, private residence
- Flea markets/shows
- Covered, unlike under state exemption
- Coins
- Added to 'secondhand goods' definition
- Enforcement
- Sheriff's office or local law enforcement
- Excludes
- Secondary metal recyclers (separate ordinance)
Summary
Collier County adopts Florida's secondhand-dealer law and tightens it: a dealer must hold any purchased item for 30 days before reselling it, cannot buy from a hotel room, vehicle, P.O. box or private residence, and the rule reaches flea-market and coin-show sellers state law otherwise exempts, under Code Secs. 26-316 through 26-325.
Sec. 26-322. Amending F.S. ch. 538, pt. I, as incorporated by reference herein, a secondhand store shall not include a hotel room or motel room, a vehicle, a post office box, or a private residence, and no secondhand goods may be purchased by a secondhand dealer from a hotel room or motel room, a vehicle, a post office box, or a private residence. Applications that list a hotel room or motel room, a vehicle, a post office box, or a private residence are not valid. ... Sec. 26-323. Amending F.S. ch. 538, pt. I, as incorporated by reference herein, a secondhand dealer shall not sell, barter, exchange, alter, adulterate, use, or in any way dispose of any secondhand goods within 30 calendar days of the date of acquisition of the goods and the secondhand goods shall remain within Collier County for the duration of the hold period.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 126 | Land Development Code: Supplement 33).
Full Breakdown
The Collier County Secondhand Dealer Ordinance (Ord. No. ch. 538, pt. I, by reference and then amends it in five specific ways. Sec. ' Sec. 26-321 strips the flea-market and coin/collectible-show exemptions that state law otherwise allows, so any person buying, consigning or trading secondhand goods at a flea market or coin show is covered regardless of whether the booth is temporary or permanent. Sec. 26-322 bars a secondhand dealer from buying goods out of a hotel or motel room, a vehicle, a post office box, or a private residence, and any dealer application listing one of those as the business address is invalid; licensed numismatists and philatelists at sanctioned shows are exempted from that piece.
Sec. 26-323 adds a mandatory 30-calendar-day hold: a dealer cannot sell, barter, exchange, alter or otherwise dispose of purchased secondhand goods until 30 days after acquiring them, and the goods must stay inside Collier County for the entire hold period so law enforcement can trace stolen property. The ordinance applies in both incorporated and unincorporated Collier County, with the county and any municipality sharing concurrent enforcement authority (Sec. 26-317), and it does not cover secondary metal recyclers, who are separately regulated under Ordinance No. ch. 538, pt. II.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 26-325 lets a law enforcement or code enforcement officer cite each violation as a separate offense, including a separate offense for each failure to properly document a transaction, processed under the Collier County Consolidated Code Enforcement Ordinance and F.S. ch. 162. Knowingly violating the article, including refusing to allow an inspection, is punished as a misdemeanor under general law, and the county may also seek injunctive relief in court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long must a Collier County pawn or secondhand shop hold an item before reselling?
Can a secondhand dealer buy from someone at a motel?
Does the flea market exemption in state law apply in Collier County?
Does this ordinance cover scrap metal recyclers?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Collier County
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