Homestead, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Annual license fee
- $131.25
- Felony conviction bar
- 10 years
- Article violation bar
- 3 years
- Trading hours restriction
- No sunset-7 a.m. sales (except autos)
- Item hold requirement
- 30 days, available for police inspection
- License expiration
- September 30 annually
Summary
Homestead bars anyone from operating as a secondhand dealer, including pawnbrokers and junk dealers, without first obtaining and paying for a license under Sec. 16-222. The fee is $131.25 a year, and a felony conviction within ten years bars the license outright.
No person in the city shall carry on the business of secondhand dealer, as defined in section 16-221, without first having obtained and paid for a license. ... Every person engaged in, managing, conducting or operating any business referred to in section 16-221 shall pay a business license fee of one hundred thirty-one dollars and twenty-five cents ($131.25) per year.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 87).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 16-221 defines a secondhand dealer broadly to include anyone buying, selling, storing or trading used goods such as clothing, metal, furniture, used vehicles, jewelry, tools or firearms, including pawnbrokers, and covers junkyards dealing in disassembled vehicles and scrap metal. Sec. 16-222 makes it unlawful to carry on that business without first obtaining and paying for a license, issued after the city license officer reviews a written, notarized application disclosing the applicant's residency history, prior employment, felony convictions and the specific goods to be handled (Sec.
16-223). 25 (Sec. 16-225), and Sec. 16-226 bars issuance to anyone convicted of a felony within the preceding ten years, or of any violation of this article within the preceding three years. Licenses must be posted conspicuously on the premises and expire September 30 each year (Secs. 16-228, 16-230), and moving the business without a written permit from the finance department is prohibited (Sec. 16-231). Sec. ; acquiring goods from an intoxicated person, an unaccompanied minor, or someone using a false name; failing to keep purchased items segregated and available for police inspection for at least 30 days; and refusing a police inspection of the premises at any time. An applicant denied a license must wait at least six months before reapplying unless the reason for denial no longer exists (Sec. 16-224(a)).
Violations & Fines
Operating as a secondhand dealer without the required license, buying or selling non-automobile goods between sunset and 7:00 a.m., acquiring goods from an intoxicated person or unaccompanied minor, or refusing a police inspection of the premises are each declared unlawful under Sec. 16-232. A conviction under this article also bars a new license for three years, and a felony conviction bars one for ten years under Sec. 16-226.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do pawnbrokers need a special license in Homestead?
Can someone with a felony conviction get a secondhand dealer license in Homestead?
Are there restrictions on when a secondhand dealer can buy or sell items?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Homestead
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Secondhand Dealers in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Miami-Dade County handle secondhand dealers.