Owensboro, KY Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 16, Article VII covers dealers in secondhand or antique jewelry, coins, watches, diamonds and other precious stones, cutlery, and old gold, silver, platinum, or other precious metals, along with any other secondhand manufactured articles containing those metals (Sec. 16-161(a)). Every dealer keeps a daily register open to inspection by any city police officer, and must also create an account with the police department to file daily reports in an electronic database the chief of police designates (Sec. 16-161(a), (b)). For each purchase, the dealer enters the date, the seller's name, address, date of birth, race, sex, and operator's license or state photo ID number, plus as minute a description of the article as possible, including the price paid, any identification numbers, and the manufacturer's name (Sec.

16-161(c)). Before any purchase, the dealer must verify the seller's identity with a photograph on the ID presented (Sec. 16-161(d)). If the database goes down, the dealer brings the paper register to the police department daily until entries can resume electronically (Sec. 16-161(e)). Every item purchased must be retained in the condition received for five consecutive work days, kept separate from other days' purchases rather than commingled, and made available to police, sheriff's, or state police officials for inspection at the place of purchase, unless the chief of police gives written permission to release it sooner (Sec.

16-162). New dealers get sixty days from the effective date of the ordinance to come into electronic compliance, during which paper reporting is accepted (Sec. 16-164). A licensed pawnbroker already reporting under Article VI is not required to duplicate the same data under this article (Sec. 16-152).