Perth Amboy, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 266, Article I, licenses anyone dealing in junk, rags, bones, old rope, old iron, old automobiles, brass, copper, tin, lead and other old metals, old bottles, old glass, old tinware or any other secondhand articles in the City of Perth Amboy (§ 266-1). A junk shop or junkyard needs one license and each cart, wagon, boat or other vehicle needs its own (§ 266-2). The applicant must be a citizen of the United States (§ 266-3), above age eighteen, and must file a written application verified by oath before the City Clerk with statements from at least six freeholder residents vouching for good moral character (§ 266-7).

The fee is $200 for a junk shop or junkyard license (§ 266-4) and $200 for a collection vehicle license (§ 266-5). Each background check is paid for by the applicant and stays good for three (3) years. One person can hold no more than one junk shop or junkyard license, but duplicate vehicle licenses, issued on favorable endorsement by Council members, cost an additional $50 each (§ 266-16). Licenses run for the calendar year, and one issued on or after August 1 pays half the fee (§ 266-20).

Operating rules are specific. Dealers cannot take goods in pledge or pawn (§ 266-8), must keep a book recording each purchase with a description, the seller's name and residence and the day and hour (§ 266-9), and cannot buy from minors, apprentices or servants without proof of the owner's consent (§ 266-10). Buying between sunset and 7:00 a.m. is barred, as is buying from anyone under eighteen (§ 266-11). Rag or paper purchases at $1 or less need no book entry. Under Article II, acquired goods cannot be resold or moved for 48 hours until the Chief of Police is given written notice and certifies inspection (§ 266-22), and premises facing the public highway need a solid board or metal fence at least eight (8) feet high (§ 266-23).