Lafayette, LA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 90, Article II of the Lafayette City Code governs secondhand dealers, and Sec. 90-32 makes clear the article applies only inside the city, not parish-wide. Sec. 90-51 requires anyone in the business of buying, selling, trading or otherwise acquiring used goods -- jewelry, tools, electronics, firearms, sporting goods, appliances and similar items -- to obtain a permit before opening and to display it in public view at the place of business. The application under Sec. 90-52 must be a sworn form listing the dealer's date of birth, Social Security number, driver's license number and address, signed by three city property taxpayers vouching for good moral character, and backed by a $2,500 bond payable to the city-parish consolidated government.

Sec. 90-53 disqualifies anyone convicted of felony theft or any theft/stolen-property offense, anyone whose prior dealer permit was revoked within five years, and requires natural-person applicants to be 21 or older and state residents for at least two years. Sec. 90-54 sets the $50 annual fee, ties the permit to one address only, and expires it every December 31 regardless of issue date, requiring reapplication each year. Sec. 90-35 requires permittees to log every item with a serial number and every item priced at $25 or more, recording the seller's name, address, physical description and driver's license or government ID number, and to keep those records for three years for inspection by the chief of police.

Sec. 90-36 bars a dealer from reselling or altering acquired goods for 30 days after acquisition. Sec. 90-34 exempts yard/garage sales (four days or fewer per month), religious and educational institutions, nonprofit and fraternal organizations, antique dealers, coin/bullion sales, licensed auto dealers, and anyone already operating as a secondhand dealer before December 13, 1988.