Mount Vernon, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License fee
- $150 plus $5,000 bond
- Issued by
- Mayor, sealed by City Clerk
- Expires
- Every June 30
- Background check
- Fingerprints via Public Safety Dept.
- Disqualifier
- Felony or violent/dishonest misdemeanor
- Location
- Fixed to address named on license
Summary
Mount Vernon requires anyone who buys or sells secondhand articles, including junk shops, junkyards, scrap metal establishments and waste material handling plants, to hold a Mayor-issued license under City Code Chapter 157. Applicants need a Public Safety Department recommendation, fingerprint clearance, a $150 fee and a $5,000 bond before opening.
§ 157-1. License required. No person shall keep what are commonly called junk shops, nor collect, buy or sell... within the City, old junk, rags, cloth, paper, paper bagging, old rope, scrap metals, old iron, brass, copper, tin, lead, slush, empty bottles, old rubber products, old cable and wire or any other article whose condition renders it practically useless for the purpose for which it was made and commonly intended, without first procuring from the Mayor a license therefor. § 157-2. License requirements. A. ... The Mayor is hereby authorized to grant licenses... to keep what are commonly called "junk shops," "junkyards," "waste material handling plants" and "scrap metal establishments" for the purchase and sale of secondhand articles described in § 157-1 of this article... No license shall be granted to any applicant who has been convicted of any felony or of any misdemeanor involving violence, dishonesty or deceit. § 157-3. Fees and bonds. ... Every person receiving such license shall pay therefor the sum of $150 and shall also give a bond to the City in the penal sum of $5,000...
Full Breakdown
City Code § 157-1 bars anyone from keeping a junk shop or buying, selling or collecting old junk, rags, scrap metal, rubber, cable, wire or similar secondhand items in Mount Vernon without first getting a license from the Mayor. Section 157-2 explains the license authorizes the holder to run a "junk shop," "junkyard," "waste material handling plant" or "scrap metal establishment" specifically for the purchase and sale of the secondhand articles described in § 157-1. Every applicant must submit fingerprints of both hands to the Commissioner of Public Safety, which are forwarded to the Division of Criminal Justice Services for a background check; the Bureau of Criminal Identification must review the results before any license issues, and a felony conviction or a misdemeanor involving violence, dishonesty or deceit is an automatic disqualifier.
Section 157-3 sets the license fee at $150 plus a $5,000 bond conditioned on compliance with all applicable ordinances; a larceny or stolen-property conviction by any owner, partner or officer also bars the license. Section 157-4 requires written sign-off from the Building Commissioner, Health Commissioner, Fire Commissioner and Commissioner of Public Safety before the Mayor grants or renews a license. Section 157-5 fixes the license term: it runs only until the following June 30 unless the Mayor or City Council revokes it sooner. m.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 157 sets no separate fine, so the citywide penalty in City Code § 1-4 applies: up to $250 or 15 days in jail for an individual, or up to $500 for a corporation, and the City can also sue to enjoin continued operation. Because § 157-5 makes every license revocable at will by the Mayor or City Council, operating without required Public Safety, Building, Health and Fire sign-offs can end the license outright, not just draw a fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mount Vernon
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