Yuba County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License required for
- pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers
- Issued annually by
- County Tax Collector
- Sheriff investigation
- fingerprints, photo, 15-day recommendation
- Records retained
- at least two years
- Resale hold
- 10 days after receipt
- Max penalty
- $1,000 fine and/or 6 months jail
- Revocation
- 10 days' notice, no refund for 6 months
Summary
Unincorporated Yuba County requires anyone operating as a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer to hold an annual license from the County Tax Collector before opening for business, under County Code § 6.35.010. Applicants undergo a Sheriff's Office background investigation, must log every transaction, and cannot resell an item for ten days after receiving it.
6.35.010. - License; required. It shall be unlawful for any person or business organization to engage in the business of a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer without first having procured a license pursuant to this Chapter. ... 6.35.130. - Violations; sale within ten days. Except for motor vehicles currently registered with the State of California, it shall be unlawful for any person or business organization licensed under this Chapter to sell or otherwise dispose of any article within ten days after receipt of such articles and the entry of such article on the records requiring to be kept under Section 6.35.110. ... 6.35.170. - Penalties. Any person or business organization violating any of the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000.00, or by imprisonment in the County Jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 6).
Full Breakdown
020(2) as anyone buying, selling or otherwise dealing in secondhand goods. 030 exempts a single sale of secondhand goods lasting no more than 48 hours within any 30-day period, held away from a regular business location by someone with an ownership or possessory interest in the property, along with car dealers licensed under the Vehicle Code and businesses reselling their own used equipment. 040, a license must be obtained annually, in advance, from the County Tax Collector, with a separate license required for each business location.
080 requires the Board itself to approve every license. 090 lets the Board revoke a license for a violation of the Chapter or state law after ten days' written notice and a hearing, and bars any refund until six months after revocation. 110 requires licensees to keep a daily record of every article received, including the hour, the seller's name and address, an item description, the pawn ticket number, the amount loaned or paid, and any serial number, retained for at least two years and open to Sheriff's Department inspection. 130 bars selling or disposing of any received article, other than a currently registered motor vehicle, within ten days of receipt and logging. 160.
Violations & Fines
Violating any provision of Chapter 6.35, including the recordkeeping duty in § 6.35.110 (made independently unlawful by § 6.35.120) and the ten-day holding period in § 6.35.130, is a misdemeanor under § 6.35.170: a fine up to $1,000.00, up to six months in the County Jail, or both. Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense, and the Sheriff's Office enforces recordkeeping compliance directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a license to sell secondhand goods in unincorporated Yuba County?
How long must I hold an item before reselling it?
Who issues the license and who investigates applicants?
Can the county revoke my license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yuba County
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