Scottsdale, AZ Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Before acting as secondhand/junk dealer
- First-year license fee
- $200, then $100/year
- Reportable-goods hold
- 10 days (§ 16-339)
- Low-value exemption
- Under $100 with no serial number
- Home décor exemption
- Under $500 with no serial number
- Reporting violation penalty
- Class 3 misdemeanor
Summary
Scottsdale bars anyone from operating as a junk dealer or secondhand dealer without first obtaining a city license under § 16-331, on top of any other required city, county, state or federal license, and the license cannot be transferred between owners or locations.
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person to act within the city as an auction house, auctioneer, junk dealer, scrap metal dealer, pawnbroker or secondhand dealer, without first obtaining a city license to do so.(b)A license required by this section is in addition to any other licenses or permits required to engage in business by the city, county, state and federal governments, and shall be nontransferable, either person-to-person, or location-to-location.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
Section 16-331 requires a city license before acting as a secondhand dealer or junk dealer, defined in § 16-310 to cover buying, selling, trading or consigning secondhand goods, wares, merchandise or scrap and recyclable metal materials. Section 16-332 requires applicants to meet personally with a police department representative for a records review and identification photo before an initial license issues, and sets a 15-day administrative, 45-day substantive and 90-day overall review timeframe. Section 16-333 sets the fee at $200 for the first year and $100 annually after that, with recovery of back fees for up to four prior years of unlicensed operation.
Section 16-312 exempts specific categories from the article entirely: recycling of metal cans, paper, cardboard or glass; used books, tires, clothing, non-bezeled coins, postage stamps, trading cards, comic books and furniture; sports memorabilia worth $100 or less; DVDs, CDs, records and video games; tax-exempt organizations; and non-precious items worth under $100, or home décor items worth under $500, that carry no serial number. Every reportable purchase must be logged under § 16-338 on a form costing $2 unless the licensee pays a $400 monthly exemption fee, with hard-copy reports delivered to police within 48 hours, and § 16-339 requires a 10-day holding period on secondhand and auction-house goods before resale, longer if the item is later found to require investigation.
Violations & Fines
Failing a reportable transaction report under § 16-338 is a class 3 misdemeanor, and violations can trigger the police department's investigative hold on the goods for the full statutory period. Section 16-334.1 requires the director to deny an application where the applicant is delinquent on city debts, has an unqualified corporate status, or has a controlling person with a disqualifying conviction or open warrant, and § 16-340 separately makes it unlawful to submit false information on any report or license application.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do secondhand and junk dealers need a license in Scottsdale?
What items are exempt from Scottsdale's secondhand dealer rules?
How long must a Scottsdale secondhand dealer hold purchased goods?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Scottsdale
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