Port St. Lucie, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- City business tax receipt, § 116.04
- Holding period
- 30 days before resale, § 116.07(b)(1)
- ID check
- Government photo ID required, § 116.05(e)
- Hours ban
- Closed 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- Drive-through transactions
- Prohibited, § 116.08(b)
- Penalty
- Up to $500 fine, 60 days jail
Summary
Secondhand dealers in Port St. Lucie need the same city business tax receipt pawnbrokers do, but Chapter 116 layers on dealer-specific rules: a 30-day hold on every item before resale, mandatory photo-ID verification of sellers, and a ban on doing business between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., all enforced by the police department.
Secondhand dealer means any person who is not a secondary metals recycler subject to Part II, Chapter 538, Florida Statutes, who is engaged in the business of purchasing, consigning, or trading secondhand goods or entering into title loan transactions. ... A secondhand dealer shall not sell, barter, exchange, alter, adulterate, or in any way dispose of any secondhand goods within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of acquisition of the goods. ... Have a secondhand store open or engage in or conduct business as a secondhand dealer between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 103).
Full Breakdown
Port St. 02 as anyone other than a secondary metals recycler who buys, consigns, or trades secondhand goods or enters title loan transactions, operating out of a registered secondhand store. Like pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers must obtain a City of Port St. 04 before opening. 07(b)(1) bars a secondhand dealer from selling, bartering, exchanging, altering, or otherwise disposing of any secondhand good within thirty calendar days of acquiring it, unless the original seller is redeeming the item and the dealer can prove it with the original transaction record.
05(e) requires the dealer to verify every seller's identity with a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license or military card, and to record the type of ID, the issuing agency, and its number. , and bans drive-through transactions entirely. The same section prohibits knowingly transacting with anyone visibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol or under eighteen years old. 03 carves out exemptions for nonprofits, antique dealers registered with the state, and estate-sale-style transactions, but a general secondhand shop is fully covered.
Violations & Fines
Section 116.09 treats a willful violation of the secondhand dealer rules the same as a pawnbroker violation: a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500.00, up to sixty days in the county jail, or both, with every day of noncompliance, such as an unlicensed shop or an item resold before the 30-day hold expires, charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long must a secondhand dealer hold an item before reselling it?
Can a secondhand store stay open all night in Port St. Lucie?
What ID does a secondhand dealer have to collect from sellers?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Port St. Lucie
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