Pasadena, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Secondhand dealer license fee
- $10 per establishment, 1-year term
- Nonprofit exemption
- fee waived for qualifying charities (§5.56.050)
- Police reports due
- every Monday and Thursday before 10 a.m.
- Item hold period
- 15 days, with exceptions for furniture/bottles (§5.56.150)
- Violation penalty
- up to $500 fine / 6 months jail
Summary
Secondhand goods and jewelry dealers in Pasadena pay $10 a year for a license certificate under Municipal Code Chapter 5.56, separate from the higher pawnbroker fee, and must report every item bought or received to police twice weekly and hold it 15 days before resale.
"secondhand dealer" means: 1. A person, as herein defined, engaged in, conducting, managing or carrying on the business of buying, selling or otherwise dealing in secondhand goods, wares or merchandise; or 2. A person, as herein defined, engaged in, conducting, managing or carrying on the business of buying, selling or otherwise dealing in secondhand jewelry, precious and semiprecious stones and metals and imitations thereof, watches, rings, bracelets or other similar goods, wares and merchandise. ... Upon filing of an application for a license to act as a secondhand dealer, complying with the requirements of this section, and upon the payment of $10.00 for each separate establishment or place of business conducted within the city, the city assessor, tax and license collector shall issue a license certificate authorizing the holder to engage in the business of secondhand dealer for a period of one year from the date of the license certificate.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 79 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
010(D) defines a "secondhand dealer" as anyone in the business of buying, selling or dealing in secondhand goods, wares or merchandise, or in secondhand jewelry, precious or semiprecious stones and metals, watches, rings, bracelets and similar items, but exempts anyone selling genuine antiques bought directly from a wholesale dealer or imported into the United States by that person. 020 bars operating as a secondhand dealer without a license certificate. 00 pawnbroker fee, in addition to the regular business license tax. 050 waives the fee entirely for a religious, charitable or educational society running a secondhand business if its proceeds go to that society's charitable, religious or educational purposes.
150 exempts common household furniture, rags, bottles other than milk or cream bottles, and registered motor vehicles from that 15-day hold. 100 requires the dealer's full purchase and sale records to stay open to police inspection at all times during business hours.
Violations & Fines
Section 5.56.170 makes any violation of Chapter 5.56 a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment in the city jail for not more than six months, with each day of continued violation a separate offense. Section 5.56.060 authorizes revocation of a secondhand dealer's license for violating the chapter, after a hearing under Section 5.56.070, and bars reissuance for 12 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Do antique dealers need a Pasadena secondhand dealer license?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pasadena
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