Rialto, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- State definition adopted
- Bus. & Prof. Code Sec. 21626
- Hold period before resale
- 10 calendar days
- Required records
- Written sales log plus fingerprint impression
- Out-of-city disposal ban
- 10 days absent police chief OK
- Annual permit fee
- $60, issued by police chief
- Report access
- Restricted to law enforcement absent court order
Summary
Rialto regulates secondhand dealers under the state law definition in Business and Professions Code Section 21626, covering junk dealers, coin dealers and general secondhand goods buyers. RMC Sec. 4.04.030 requires every dealer to hold purchased items intact for ten calendar days, keep a written sales record, and take a fingerprint impression from each seller before resale.
All the property and other valuable goods, wares and merchandise received on deposit or purchased shall be kept intact in their original state by every junk dealer, secondhand dealer, pawnbroker, and proprietor or owner of any office or any other place of business where money is loaned on personal property for compensation, for a period of ten calendar days from the date of such purchase, receipt or acquisition of the same, and shall be exhibited to the police chief or made available for inspection by any law enforcement officer or employee designated by the police chief. All pawnbrokers and dealers in secondhand goods shall maintain a written record of all sales and purchases of all secondhand or used goods purchased by them for cash at their place of business. As part of the written record of sales and purchases, the pawnbroker must make an impression of the customer's fingerprint on the record of sales and purchases for every person who pawns, trades, or sells personal property to a secondhand dealer or pawnbroker.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 39).
Full Breakdown
RMC Sec. 04 covers by adopting the term 'secondhand dealer' from California Business and Professions Code Section 21626, subject to the exemptions in Section 21629, and the chapter expressly names pawnbrokers, coin dealers and junk dealers as included categories alongside general secondhand goods buyers. RMC Sec. 030 is the operative retention rule: every item a secondhand dealer receives on deposit or purchases must be kept intact in its original state for ten calendar days from acquisition and made available to the police chief or any officer the chief designates for inspection during that period.
Dealers must also keep a written record of every sale and purchase of secondhand or used goods bought for cash, and that record must include a fingerprint impression from every person who pawns, trades, or sells property to the dealer. RMC Sec. 040 bars a dealer from disposing of purchased or received property, whether by resale or removal from the city, for ten days after acquisition unless the police chief authorizes earlier disposition for good cause specified by the Department of Justice; even then, the dealer must report the early sale to the chief.
Reports filed under the chapter are kept in the police department's records bureau and are open to inspection only by law enforcement absent a court order, per RMC Sec. 080. Like pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers must also hold the $60 annual regulatory permit issued by the police chief under RMC Sec. 090, on top of the city's general business license.
Violations & Fines
A secondhand dealer who disposes of purchased property before the ten-day hold under RMC Sec. 4.04.040 without police chief authorization, or who fails to maintain the sales records and fingerprint impressions required by RMC Sec. 4.04.030, risks permit revocation under Section 4.04.090 if the violation is not cured within ten days of written notice, and operating without a valid permit is itself a misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a secondhand dealer in Rialto?
How long does a secondhand dealer have to hold merchandise before reselling it?
What paperwork does a Rialto secondhand dealer need to keep?
Can a secondhand dealer ship purchased goods out of Rialto right away?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rialto
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