Portland, ME Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 23, Secondhand Goods, Article II, Division 2, requires a license before anyone engages in the business of secondhand dealer, junk dealer, junk collector, pawnbroker or flea market seller (Sec. 23-26), with applications filed at the Department of Permitting and Inspections under Chapter 15's fee schedule and procedures (Sec. 23-27); a disqualifying criminal conviction blocks issuance under Sec. 23-28. The dealer-specific recordkeeping duty is set out in Sec. 23-18(c): on acquiring any article by purchase or exchange, a secondhand dealer must complete a transaction record on forms the chief of police supplies, stating the seller's full name, address, and the month, date and year of the transaction, plus a full description of the article and the price paid, and the record must be signed by the seller in person.

Within 48 hours the dealer must electronically report that information to the chief of police, and must keep the record on hand for at least two years, open to inspection by any city police officer at any reasonable time. No article acquired this way may be sold, disposed of, or altered in appearance within ten days of purchase without the written consent of the chief of police, who may attach conditions to that consent. The definition of secondhand dealer in Sec. 23-16 sweeps broadly, electronics, firearms, watches, jewelry, furs, antique furniture, musical instruments, used cars and tires, and gas, water and electric meters are all named examples, and Sec. 23-21 lets police place a hold of up to 90 days on suspected stolen goods in a dealer's possession.