Kauai County, HI Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 23, Article 2 governs the county's closest equivalent to a secondhand or junk dealer license: scrap metal dealers. Section 23-2.2 defines a scrap metal dealer broadly as any person engaged in buying or selling scrap metal of any kind, and Section 23-2.3 sets the license fee at $10 per year, payable to the Treasurer of the County of Kaua'i. Section 23-2.4 attaches several conditions directly to the license: the dealer must keep a book recording the date, quantity, amount, and an accurate description of every item purchased, along with the seller's name and a statement of where the seller obtained the scrap; the dealer may not buy from a minor unless the minor can verify the source through a signed statement from the adult who conveyed the scrap; the dealer must immediately notify the Chief of Police of any offer to sell scrap the dealer has reasonable cause to suspect was stolen; and the dealer must give the Chief of Police one week's notice before shipping any scrap metal off the island.

Section 23-2.5 lets the Treasurer or Chief of Police inspect the dealer's books, place of business, and scrap inventory at any time, and the license is tied to the specific location where it designates the business is carried on. Section 23-2.6 makes operating unlicensed, operating after license revocation, failing to keep the required records, or otherwise breaching a license condition a fine of up to $500 per offense, with forfeiture of the license itself as an added consequence.