Madison County, IL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Chapter 78 covers secondhand dealers alongside pawnbrokers. 02 defines SECONDHAND DEALER broadly: any person or entity who, as a business within Madison County, engages in the purchase, sale, trade, barter or exchange of secondhand goods, wares or merchandise, or who keeps any store, shop, room or place where such goods are bought, sold, traded, bartered, recycled or exchanged. The same section carves the definition back, providing that the chapter does not apply to bona fide trade-ins where no cash changes hands, to auction houses, to titled property of record with a state or federal government, or to entities purchasing scrap metals.

com and upload transaction data at least daily: the seller's name, address, date of birth and photo ID, the transaction's date and time, and a description and photograph of each item, with extra detail required for watches and jewelry. 04 requires that report to be filed by the end of each business day the dealer is open, in English, with each visit by the same person on a different date treated as a separate transaction that cannot be combined and reported collectively. 05 further exempts the purchase or sale of used motor vehicles, motorcycles and motor-driven cycles as defined under the Illinois Vehicle Code, and charitable organizations accepting donated goods for resale as a fundraiser.