Tulare County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Fixed-location and itinerant junk dealers
- Buying-hours cutoff
- No junk purchases 6 p.m.-6 a.m.
- Vehicle lettering
- Name and phone, both sides, 2-inch letters
- Charitable exemption
- Bona fide nonprofit collectors exempt
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Tulare County only
Summary
Anyone buying, selling, or collecting junk for profit in unincorporated Tulare County, fixed-location or itinerant, must hold a County license under Ordinance Code Chapter 6-19. Itinerant collectors also have to letter their trucks with their name and phone number and cannot buy junk after 6 p.m.
§ 6-19-1020. LICENSE REQUIRED. Any person engaging in the junk business or in the itinerant junk business within the County shall have a valid license under Chapter 1 of this Part to engage in such business. ... § 6-19-3030. HOURS OF BUSINESS. It shall be unlawful for any junk dealer to purchase or receive any junk between the hours of 6:00 p.m. of any day and 6:00 a.m. of the following day.
Full Breakdown
Section 6-19-1020 states plainly that "any person engaging in the junk business or in the itinerant junk business within the County shall have a valid license" issued under the general business-licensing chapter, Chapter 1 of Part VI. The ordinance covers both a fixed-location junk dealer and an "itinerant junk business," defined as operating without a fixed location by soliciting or collecting junk while traveling from place to place; a business based in a city or another county that comes into the unincorporated area to buy or collect junk is still covered and is not treated as itinerant if it has a fixed base elsewhere, per section 6-19-1030.
Section 6-19-1040 requires every vehicle used in the itinerant junk business to carry the licensee's name and telephone number in contrasting letters at least two inches tall on both sides. Section 6-19-3030 bars any junk dealer from purchasing or receiving junk between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following day, a restriction aimed at stolen-property fencing after dark. A separate annual fee applies for each noncontiguous storage yard or location, and a separate itinerant vehicle fee is charged per vehicle under section 6-19-2010, both set by Board of Supervisors resolution.
Charitable, patriotic, educational, or fraternal organizations collecting junk for their own benefit are exempt from licensing under section 6-19-1050, provided drivers and helpers carry identification cards. This license does not double as a refuse-hauling license: anyone collecting refuse still needs the separate license required under Part IV, Chapter 3.
Violations & Fines
Operating an unlicensed junk business, buying junk after the 6:00 p.m. cutoff, or running an unmarked itinerant vehicle is a Chapter 6-19 violation. Under the countywide business-licensing penalty at section 6-01-5000, willful violations are infractions punishable under section 125: up to $100 for a first conviction, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for a third. The license collector may also deny, suspend, or revoke the license under sections 6-01-4020 and 6-01-4030 for operating outside health, safety, or zoning rules, with the licensee entitled to administrative review and appeal to the County Hearing Officer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Tulare County junk dealer license cover scrap collected in Visalia?
What hours can a licensed junk dealer buy scrap?
Do charities collecting scrap metal need this license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tulare County
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