Irving, TX Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 19's junk dealer article covers anyone buying, selling, storing or otherwise dealing in junk, defined broadly under Section 19-1 to include scrap metal, rags, bottles, dismantled plumbing or gas fixtures, used water heaters, and unserviceable secondhand automobiles bought for dismantling. Section 19-2 requires the dealer to obtain an annual license from the city's tax assessor and collector for $25, renewed yearly, plus a separate fee for each junk wagon the dealer runs under Section 19-4. Section 19-3 requires the dealer's license to be displayed where customers can see it, and a junk wagon's license displayed on the wagon itself.

Section 19-5 requires the dealer to keep duplicate report books recording every purchase or deposit: a description of the item, the price paid, the date, and the seller's name, age, sex, signature, residence, race, nationality, height, weight, and vehicle license number and state. the following day, and Section 19-7 bans altering those records. Section 19-8 requires the dealer to hold each purchased item for ten days, tagged with its report's serial number, before reselling it, unless the police chief authorizes early release. Section 19-9 requires identification of an unfamiliar seller by someone known to the dealer, Section 19-10 bars buying items with a removed serial number, and Section 19-11 bars buying from a minor without the signed, written consent of a parent or guardian.