Noblesville, IN Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Section 115.01 makes it unlawful to conduct, maintain, or engage in the business of junk dealer, defined as anyone who operates a junk yard, inside the City of Noblesville without first obtaining a license from the mayor. To apply, § 115.02 requires a written application to the clerk-treasurer listing the applicant's full name and address, the name and address of every officer, partner, or business associate, and the street address where the business will operate. The application must also carry the signed certificate of at least ten resident freeholders vouching that the applicant is of good moral character.

The clerk-treasurer forwards the application to the mayor, who checks that the proposed junkyard location complies with the zoning ordinance before authorizing the clerk-treasurer to issue the license on payment of a $50 fee for each calendar year or part of a year. Once licensed, § 115.03 requires the dealer to keep a book, written in ink in English at the time of each transaction, recording an accurate description of the goods purchased, taken, or received, the amount paid, the time of the transaction, and the name, residence, age, race, height, and approximate weight of the person selling or delivering the goods.

Section 115.04 gives the Chief of Police, or any officer he designates, the right to inspect those records at all reasonable times, a check meant to trace stolen property moving through junk dealers. Section 115.99 fines any violation of the chapter up to $300, separate from the pawnbroker and secondhand dealer licensing scheme in Chapter 116, which covers a different category of used-goods business.