Pierce County, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

PCC 5.12.020 makes it unlawful to deal in secondhand or antique property, run a flea market, or engage in pawnbroking in unincorporated Pierce County without a county license, unlike the pawnbroker license, secondhand dealer licenses are not capped by population ratio. A secondhand dealer is defined broadly under PCC 5.12.010 to include anyone buying, selling, trading, or transferring secondhand property for value, whether or not they keep a fixed location, and the definition sweeps in anyone doing more than three flea market or swap meet transactions a year; heirs and estate representatives disposing of estate contents are excluded.

Secondhand property itself covers used goods showing wear, new-looking goods where the seller cannot produce a business license or reseller permit, and gift cards, stamps, coins, precious metals, and jewelry where the same documentation is missing. PCC 5.12.075 imposes a specific anti-fencing safeguard: a secondhand dealer must require anyone selling property showing signs of recent make and vintage to produce either a sales receipt from the last 60 days or a copy of the seller's business license and reseller permit. Applications go to the County Auditor on prescribed forms per PCC 5.12.050, and PCC 5.12.040 requires a Sheriff's investigation and a Building/Fire inspection before issuance, the same pre-licensing review pawnbrokers face. All secondhand dealers must also comply with the state Chapter 19.60 RCW alongside the county chapter, per PCC 5.12.080.