Joliet, IL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 17, Junk and Secondhand Dealers, requires a license for anyone engaging in the business of purchasing, trading in, or dealing in junk, scrap paper, bags, or secondhand articles within the city (§ 17-1). 00 per vehicle for junk peddlers (§ 17-6, § 18-20). A junk store or yard can't be located within 400 feet of a church, hospital, or public/parochial school, and can't open in a predominantly residential block without written consent from a majority of property owners by frontage, verified by the city manager (§ 17-2).

Once a licensee acquires an item, § 17-7 bars reselling, disposing of, or altering it until 48 hours have elapsed. Section 17-8 flatly prohibits knowingly buying stolen goods or goods from anyone other than the rightful owner, and § 17-9 bars purchases from minors except for rags, paper, or bottles, unless a parent or guardian consents in the licensee's presence. Section 17-11 separately prohibits junk and secondhand dealers from taking any article as a pledge or pawn or advancing money on an article's security, keeping pawnbroking out of this chapter entirely.

Every licensee must keep a bound record of each purchase and sale (except rags, paper, or bottles) showing the item's description, brand and serial number if available, transaction date, amount paid, and the seller's or buyer's name, sex, age, race, address, and driver's license number, preserved for three years (§ 17-12).