Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 302 of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Code, adopted by the Township Council in 2016, exists to help police and crime victims recover stolen precious metals, gems and other articles. Section 302-3 makes it unlawful to carry on the business of buying, receiving, receiving for pawn or selling covered property in the Township without a license from the Township Clerk. Covered property is defined broadly: scrap gold, old gold, silver, jewelry, home electronics, audio/visual equipment, musical instruments, cellular telephones, computers, gift cards, furniture, clothing and tools of all kinds, and the list in § 302-11 is expressly nonexhaustive.

Every applicant files with the Township Clerk and is fingerprinted by the Police Department, which investigates moral character and business responsibility. For a corporation or partnership, the officers or partners are listed, fingerprinted and investigated as well. The Chief of Police or a designee then tells the Clerk to issue or deny the license. The fee is $300, nonrefundable, on both new applications and renewals. The license cannot be transferred and terminates on December 31 of the year issued. Around November 1 the Clerk makes renewal applications available, and a dealer who has violated the chapter gets notice from the Chief of Police and can ask for a hearing before revocation.

A dealer must record the seller's name, address and telephone number, the date and time, and the weight and fineness of precious metals. Each transaction goes into the police-designated electronic database within 48 hours, with the seller's date of birth, government ID number, a color image of the ID, a full description of the item and a color image of the property. Purchased property is held for three business days after the Chief of Police receives the information, unless the Chief grants a waiver. Dealers cannot buy from anyone under 18. The chapter does not reach purchases from wholesalers or legitimate suppliers, but those records must be kept for six months.