Lakewood, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- City business license, Chapter 5.02
- State law layered on top
- RCW 19.60 and RCW 19.290 fully adopted
- Pawnshop cap
- Four licensed pawnshops citywide
- Cap direction
- Can only decrease, never increase
- Pawnbroker extra requirement
- Valid federal firearms license
Summary
Every pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, or secondhand precious metal dealer operating in Lakewood, Pierce County, must hold a City business license on top of the state licensing and reporting duties in RCW 19.60 and RCW 19.290. The city also caps the number of licensed pawnshops at four.
A. Every entity doing business within the City as a pawnbroker, secondhand dealer or secondhand precious metal dealer, as those terms are defined by RCW 19.60.010, shall be subject to the regulations set forth in this chapter and shall be required to obtain a City of Lakewood business license, as set forth in Chapter 5.02 LMC. ... Every entity subject to this chapter shall be required to report as required by Chapters 19.60 and 19.290 RCW.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 852, passed June 15, 2026).
Full Breakdown
02. 011(B)). 030 (metal property and metallic wire transaction requirements), with any reference to "the state" in those sections construed to also mean the City of Lakewood. 065). 075.
Violations & Fines
Operating as an unlicensed secondhand dealer or pawnbroker is enforceable through Title 5's general penalty, LMC 5.02.250, a misdemeanor and/or a civil infraction of $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second, and $2,000 for a third and later offenses, with each day a separate violation. The adopted state provisions carry their own penalties: RCW 19.60.066 makes prohibited pawnbroker transactions a criminal offense, and RCW 19.290.070 sets penalties for scrap-metal recordkeeping violations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do secondhand stores need a special license in Lakewood, Washington?
How many pawnshops is Lakewood allowed to license?
Does Lakewood require secondhand dealers to report transactions to police?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lakewood
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Secondhand Dealers in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle secondhand dealers.