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

City Code § 5.30.020(b) defines a "secondhand dealer" to "include any person, corporation, firm, or corporation whose business includes buying, selling, trading, taking in pawn, accepting for sale on consignment, accepting for auctioning or auctioning secondhand tangible personal property pursuant to Section 21626 of the Business and Professions Code." Section 5.30.010 subjects every secondhand dealer to the state licensing scheme in Business and Professions Code Division 8, Chapter 9 (§ 21500 et seq.), and § 5.30.030 separately makes it "unlawful for any person to engage in the business of a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer within the city limits without first obtaining a permit issued by the Chief of Police." A permitted pawnbroker is exempt from this separate secondhand dealer permit for pawn transactions under Business and Professions Code §§ 21641-21642, but a pawnbroker who also runs a secondhand-goods operation must still meet secondhand dealer requirements.

The application under § 5.30.040 must include a financial statement reviewed and signed by a licensed CPA; the Chief of Police then investigates the applicant under § 5.30.050 and forwards fingerprints to the California Department of Justice. Under § 5.30.060, the Chief can deny or refuse to renew the permit for a falsified application, a conviction for larceny, fraud, grand theft, embezzlement or receiving stolen property, or a permit denial in the prior year, subject to an appeal under Chapter 2.115 SCCC. Section 5.30.070 requires payment of the DOJ investigation fee and a City processing fee set by resolution, and § 5.30.090 requires renewal every other year.

The permit cannot be sold or transferred (§ 5.30.080), records must stay open to Chief of Police inspection under § 5.30.100, and operation must also comply with zoning under § 5.30.120 before a business tax certificate issues under § 5.30.130.