Memphis pawnbrokers are licensed under Memphis Code Chapter 6-60 and must hold a Shelby County Pawnbroker License from the County Clerk. Dealers in scrap jewelry and precious metals must register with the Memphis Police Chief and Shelby County Sheriff under Tenn. Code Ann. §38-1-201, keep daily transaction logs, and observe a 20-day hold before resale or alteration.
Three overlapping frameworks regulate secondhand dealers in Memphis. (1) Pawnbrokers operate under Memphis Code of Ordinances Title 6 (Business and License Regulations), Chapter 6-60 (Pawnbrokers), and the Tennessee Pawnbrokers Act of 1988 (Tenn. Code Ann. Title 45, Chapter 6); a Shelby County Pawnbroker License is issued by the Shelby County Clerk after background check and bond. State law preempts cities from regulating pawn interest rates, fees, hours, or transaction types beyond what the state authorizes. (2) Dealers in antique, used, or scrap jewelry and precious metals must register with the Memphis Police chief and the Shelby County Sheriff under Tenn. Code Ann. §38-1-201 (Scrap Jewelry and Metal Dealers, Title 38, Chapter 1, Part 2). Records under §38-1-203 must include a clear description of each item and seller information (name, race, sex, height, weight, date of birth, residence address, and government ID numbers); a daily log copy must be delivered to both the Memphis Police chief and the Shelby County Sheriff. (3) §38-1-202 requires a 20-day holding period before any purchased precious-metal item may be sold, exchanged, bartered, melted, reformed, or removed from the place of business. Scrap metal dealers (non-jewelry) operate under a separate registration scheme in Tenn. Code Ann. Title 62, Chapter 9, administered by the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. All operators must also hold a standard City of Memphis business license through the Office of the City Treasurer.
Operating a pawnshop without a Shelby County Pawnbroker License, dealing in precious metals without registering with the Memphis Police chief and Sheriff, falsifying the daily log, or selling within the 20-day hold is enforceable by criminal citation under Tenn. Code Ann. §38-1-205 and by license suspension or revocation. Pawnbroker license violations may also lead to bond forfeiture.
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