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

S. 37:1861, defines a secondhand dealer as anyone in the city engaged or employed in the business of buying, selling, trading in, or otherwise acquiring or disposing of used or secondhand property including, but not limited to, jewelry, firearms, silverware, diamonds, pictures, objects of art, clothing, tools, automobile accessories and supplies, sporting goods or furniture, and it sweeps in any retail merchant who acquires more than three secondhand items in a 30-day span. Section 12-51 exempts licensed motor vehicle dealers and wreckers, garage or yard sales run no more than three days a month at a non-commercial address, registered 501(c) charities, and items bought at estate sales or auctions other than jewelry and major appliances, though used hubcaps, batteries, radios, and audio equipment remain covered even when sold by an otherwise-exempt dealer. 00 bond in favor of the city. 00, and § 12-55 lets the license lapse every December 31, forcing yearly renewal.