Orange County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Orange County Code § 25-95
- Scrap processor tax
- $150 per location annually
- Junk dealer tax
- $100 per location annually
- Itinerant buyer tax
- $30, must report to Sheriff's Office
- Recordkeeping
- Transaction records kept 3+ years
- Enforcement agency
- Orange County Tax Collector; Sheriff's Office
- Scope
- Unincorporated Orange County only
Summary
Orange County requires anyone operating a junkyard or buying and selling scrap metal, wrecked cars or other used and discarded material in the unincorporated county to hold a local business tax receipt under Section 25-95. Scrap metal processors pay $150 per location annually, junk dealers pay $100, and itinerant junk buyers who travel from place to place pay $30 and must report every purchase to the sheriff's office.
Junk dealer means any person who is engaged in the business of operating a junkyard. Junkyard means an establishment or place of business which is maintained, operated, or used for storing, keeping, buying or selling junk...(b)Every person engaged in business as a scrap metal processor shall pay an annual business tax of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for each location.(c)Every person engaged in business as a junk dealer shall pay an annual business tax of one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each location.(d)Each person who travels from place to place purchasing junk shall pay an annual business tax in the county of thirty dollars ($30.00), and he shall, before leaving the county, submit a list of the junk he has purchased...to the county sheriff's department.(e)Every person engaged in business as a junk dealer or scrap metal processor...shall keep a full and complete record of each transaction showing from whom and when each article was purchased or acquired and to whom sold...These records shall be maintained for a period of not less than three (3) years...(f)Any person violating any provision of this section shall be subject to punishment as provided in section 25-52.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 128).
Full Breakdown
Section 25-95 of the Orange County Code sets the local business tax classification that covers secondhand and scrap dealing in the unincorporated county. "Junk" is defined broadly to include old scrap metals, rope, rags, batteries, paper, trash, rubber, debris, waste, dismantled or wrecked automobiles or parts, and other scrap ferrous or nonferrous material. A "junk dealer" is anyone operating a "junkyard," defined as an establishment maintained for storing, keeping, buying or selling junk, including an automobile graveyard, garbage dump or sanitary fill. A separate, higher-tier classification covers "scrap metal processors," businesses that operate machinery to process scrap iron, steel and other metals at a "scrap metal processing plant."
The annual business tax runs $150 per location for a scrap metal processor and $100 per location for a junk dealer under subsections (b) and (c). Subsection (d) sets a separate $30 tax for anyone who travels from place to place buying junk rather than operating a fixed location; before that itinerant buyer leaves the county, the code requires the buyer to submit a list of every item of junk purchased, along with the buyer's own name and address and the name and address of the person the junk was purchased from, to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Subsection (e) layers a recordkeeping mandate on top of the tax: every junk dealer or scrap metal processor must keep a complete record of each purchase and sale transaction, showing who sold or acquired each article and when, and who it was sold to and when. The code requires those transaction records to be kept for at least three years, and they must be available for inspection by any authorized county official or law enforcement officer at any time.
Violations & Fines
Section 25-95(f) makes any violation of the section, operating without the tax receipt, understating the applicable classification, or failing to keep the required three-year transaction records, punishable as provided in Section 25-52. That cross-referenced penalty section was itself repealed by Ordinance No. 2009-30 in 2009; enforcement of unlicensed business activity now runs through Section 25-53's civil actions and penalties under Florida Statutes Section 205.053, plus delinquency penalties of up to 25 percent of the tax due under Section 25-59.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a license to run a junkyard in Orange County?
What counts as "junk" under the county code?
I buy scrap by driving around the county, do the rules still apply to me?
How long do junk dealers have to keep transaction records?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Orange County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Orange County to another location·View the Florida business licensing & operations overview
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