Monterey, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required of
- Each agent/employee, § 7-5.00(a)
- Application includes
- Fingerprints, background check
- Hold period
- 30 days, Bus. & Prof. § 21626
- Location limit
- In-city, max 5 miles w/ approval
- Enforcing agency
- Monterey Police Department
Summary
Employees and agents of secondhand dealers in Monterey must individually secure a Police Department permit before buying, trading or accepting transfer of used goods, under City Code § 7-5.00(a). The ordinance also locks purchased property inside City limits, or within five miles of it, for the thirty-day hold period state law already requires.
a.No person, firm, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity doing business as a “secondhand dealer” as that term is defined in California Business and Professions Code Section 21626 shall allow any agent, employee, or other person to purchase, trade, or otherwise transfer legal ownership of any “tangible personal property” as defined in California Business and Professions Code Section 21626, until and unless said agent, employee, or other person shall first secure a permit from the Monterey Police Department.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 3721, passed July 7, 2026).
Full Breakdown
' The permit runs to the individual doing the buying, not just the business. 00(b) requires an application with the applicant's name, address, phone number, Social Security number, prior aliases, prior arrests and convictions other than traffic offenses, and any financial interest in a pawnshop, secondhand dealership, jewelry outlet, coin shop, or metal smelting or refinery operation, plus fingerprints and City background and records checks. 00(c) then layers a location rule onto the thirty-day hold that state law, Business and Professions Code § 21626, already requires for tangible personal property taken in trade: dealers must keep that property either on the premises or within Monterey city limits during the hold, and even with the Chief of Police's written permission for hardship or good cause, it can never be moved more than five miles outside the City during that thirty-day period.
Violations & Fines
Purchasing, trading, or transferring ownership of secondhand goods through an agent or employee who lacks the required Police Department permit violates § 7-5.00(a). Keeping traded property outside Monterey, or moving it more than five miles from the City during the mandatory thirty-day hold without the Chief of Police's written hardship approval, violates § 7-5.00(c). The Police Department administers and enforces the permit and hold requirements directly under this Article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who needs a secondhand dealer permit in Monterey, the store or the employee?
What information do I have to disclose to get the permit?
Can a Monterey secondhand dealer ship purchased items out of the area right away?
Where does this permit requirement come from?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monterey
California rules heatmap·Compare Monterey to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
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Secondhand Dealers in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Monterey County handle secondhand dealers.