Sacramento, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Sacramento City Code § 5.80.010 requires a permit before conducting business as a secondhand dealer or junk dealer, and § 5.80.040 makes it unlawful and a public nuisance to operate without one. Applications go to the chief of police under § 5.80.050 with a nonrefundable fee under § 5.80.060; for secondhand dealer applicants, § 5.80.080 gives the chief up to 30 days (60 days if the applicant has a prior conviction involving stolen property, extendable another 45 days on written notice) to act after the California Department of Justice returns the application. § 5.80.070 further requires the business location to be one authorized for that use under the Planning and Development Code.

Once licensed, § 5.80.180 confines the dealer to transacting business only at the address on the license. § 5.80.200 sets a 10-day holding period before any secondhand property a dealer has purchased may be resold (48 hours for junk dealers before the item may even be removed from the place of business). § 5.80.220 requires a numbered, legible form in English describing each item and the person selling, trading, pawning, or consigning it for every transaction, retained for three years, and § 5.80.240 requires those forms be delivered to the chief of police every business day before noon. § 5.80.230 requires each item to be tagged with a number matching the transaction form, and § 5.80.250 bars employing anyone under 18 to make purchases, loans, or trades.