Menifee, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Special business type
- Secondhand stores & pawnshops, Sec. 5.01.090(B)(19)
- Background check
- Chief of Police investigates owners and managers
- Application requirement
- Fingerprinting and photographing required
- Stated rationale
- Patrons vulnerable to fraudulent charging, Sec. 5.01.090(C)
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor and public nuisance under Sec. 5.01.260
Summary
Secondhand stores and pawnshops are licensed together as a single 'special business type' under Menifee Code of Ordinances Section 5.01.090(B)(19), which means the Chief of Police investigates the owner's background and fingerprints applicants before the city issues a business license for either kind of shop.
(A) Under this section, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall investigate the background of the owner and persons managing or supervising the business as deemed appropriate, unless otherwise exempted in the Chief of Police's discretion. ... Applicants applying a for a license under a special business type shall be fingerprinted and photographed and consideration shall be given to the criminal record, if any, the business responsibility of the firm and the owner (such as previous license revocations, denials, or citations). ... (B) The following enterprises or activity types, including any independent contractors conducting the below activity, are designated as special business types: ... (19) Secondhand stores & pawnshops; ... (C) The special business types listed above require special investigation, review, and/or regulation because: ... (3) The patrons of certain categories of enterprises are vulnerable to fraudulent charging or other practices;
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-15: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ordinance 2026-432, passed 4-15-2026).
Full Breakdown
090(B). Because the ordinance treats the two trades as a single licensing category, an operator applying to sell or trade used merchandise faces the same additional scrutiny described in subsection (A): the Chief of Police or a designee investigates the background of the owner and anyone managing or supervising the business, unless the Chief exercises discretion to waive a particular check, and the applicant must be fingerprinted and photographed. The city considers the applicant's criminal record and the firm's business responsibility, including prior license revocations, denials, or citations, before the Finance Department will issue the license, and the City Council sets fingerprinting fees by resolution.
Subsection (C) gives the policy reason for singling out secondhand dealers, stating that 'the patrons of certain categories of enterprises are vulnerable to fraudulent charging or other practices' as one basis for the extra investigation and regulation applied to this group of businesses. 220(C).
Violations & Fines
Operating a secondhand store or pawnshop in Menifee without completing the special business type background investigation and licensing required by Section 5.01.090, or after a license denial or revocation, is a misdemeanor and public nuisance enforceable under Section 5.01.260 by administrative citation, injunction, or criminal prosecution. The Finance Department can also add regulatory inspection fees and revoke the license if an inspection finds a violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are pawnshops licensed the same as secondhand stores in Menifee?
Why does Menifee give secondhand stores extra licensing scrutiny?
Can the city inspect a licensed secondhand store later?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Menifee
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