Kirkwood, MO Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Kirkwood Code of Ordinances § 17-123 applies to "every purchaser or collector of, or dealer in, junk, scrap metal or any secondhand property," and requires a separate register entry for each transaction involving copper, brass or bronze; aluminum wire, cable, pipe, tubing, bar, ingot, rod, fitting or fastener; farming-related copper or aluminum material; or catalytic converters. Each entry under subsection B must include a copy of the seller's driver's license or state or federal photo ID, the seller's current address, gender, birth date and photo if not already on the ID, the date, time and place of the transaction, the seller's vehicle license plate number, and a full description of the metal including weight and purchase price.

Subsection C requires dealers to keep these records for at least 24 months and to make them available for inspection by any law enforcement officer on request. A limited set of transactions is exempt under subsection E: purchases totaling $50 or less (unless the item is a catalytic converter, which is never exempt), transactions with an established business the dealer already has a relationship with, and cases where the regulated metal is only a minor part of a larger item. Anyone convicted of violating § 17-123 is guilty of an ordinance violation under subsection D.

Related sections in the same article, §§ 17-124 through 17-126, separately bar scrap dealers from buying metal beer kegs except from the brewer and require payments of $500 or more to be made by check or a photographed electronic transaction.