Oak Park, IL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensed activity
- Junk/secondhand dealing
- Required bond
- $1,000
- Vehicle markings
- Owner name/address, 2.5" letters
- Purchases from minors
- Barred without written parental consent
- Record book inspection
- Open to Police, Board of Trustees
- Default penalty range
- $20 to $750 per day
Summary
Oak Park licenses junk dealers, the code's term for secondhand resellers, requiring a $1,000 bond, marked vehicles, a purchase log open to police inspection, and a bar on buying from minors without written parental consent.
8-15-1: DEFINITIONS: ... JUNK DEALER: ... Any person who operates a place of business for the sale of junk, or who travels from place to place within the Village for the purpose of purchasing junk or collecting junk for resale or makes a business of purchasing junk from anyone who desires to sell it. 8-15- ... 3: BOND: ... Every person licensed as a junk dealer shall, at the time of receiving such license, give a bond to the Village, with corporate sureties to be approved by the Village in the penal sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), conditioned upon the due observance of all such ordinances of the Village as may be in force or passed respecting junk dealers at any time during the continuance of such license. 8-15- ... 5: MINORS: ... It shall be unlawful for any junk dealer to purchase or receive any article from a minor without the written consent of their parent(s) or guardians.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-9: Code current through: Ord. 26-159, passed - -2026).
Full Breakdown
Village Code Chapter 8, Article 15 licenses junk dealers, defined as anyone who operates a place of business selling junk, or who travels within the Village to buy or collect junk for resale, or makes a business of buying junk from anyone wanting to sell it. This is the article the pawnbroker rules point to: § 8-4B-3 separately requires a pawnbroker who also buys and sells secondhand property to hold this dealer's license in addition to a pawnbroker's license. Every licensed junk dealer must post a $1,000 bond conditioned on observing all Village ordinances governing junk dealers.
Vehicles used in the business must display the owner's name and address in letters at least two and one-half inches tall, and only motor vehicles of the state's second division may be used to collect junk. Dealers must keep a record book noting every purchase's description, the seller's name and address, and the date and hour of purchase, and that book must stay open to inspection by any Police Department member or the Board of Trustees at all times. Buying from a minor is unlawful without the written consent of a parent or guardian.
Any article a dealer receives that may be lost or stolen must be turned over to police on demand in exchange for a receipt, and it is returned to the dealer only if police investigation shows it was not in fact lost or stolen. A dealer who relocates must notify the Village Clerk, have the license endorsed with the new address, and update the address on business vehicles.
Violations & Fines
The junk dealer article does not state a specific fine, so violations, including failing to keep an open record book, buying from a minor without written parental consent, or refusing to surrender suspected lost or stolen property to police, fall under the Village's general penalty: a fine of not less than $20 nor more than $750, with each day a violation continues counted as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Oak Park have a separate license for secondhand dealers?
What bond does an Oak Park junk dealer need?
Can a junk dealer buy items from a minor in Oak Park?
What records must an Oak Park junk dealer keep?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Oak Park
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