Milton, WI Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

The City of Milton Code of Ordinances defines a secondhand article dealer as any person, other than an auctioneer, who buys or sells secondhand goods, and separately defines a secondhand jewelry dealer as anyone who buys, sells, receives, or exchanges secondhand jewelry. Both definitions exclude occasional garage or yard sales, estate sales, gun and antique shows, charitable-organization transactions, straight exchanges of new merchandise, and consignment sales. Chapter 14, Article XII treats these as license categories distinct from a pawnbroker's license: Section 14-679 lists a pawnbroker's license, a secondhand article dealer's license, a secondhand jewelry dealer's license, and a secondhand article dealer mall or flea market license as four separate fee categories, each set by common council resolution.

A secondhand dealer applies to the city clerk using the same investigation and bonding process as a pawnbroker, including a ten-year criminal history disclosure and police background check, and must record every reportable purchase in a police-approved computer system with the seller's name, address, date of birth, and government ID number. Purchased secondhand articles or jewelry must be held on the premises, unaltered, for at least seven days after receipt, shorter than the 30-day hold that applies to pawned items, so police and the rightful owner have a window to identify stolen goods before resale.