Volusia County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Cash limit
- Cash purchases of regulated metals capped at $50
- Reporting deadline
- Notify sheriff by 10 a.m. next business day
- Record retention
- Records retained for five years
- Covered items
- Covers catalytic converters, manhole covers, guard rails
- Jurisdiction
- Applies county-wide, incorporated and unincorporated areas
- Adoption
- Adopted by Ord. No. 2010-22, effective 1-20-11
Summary
Volusia County's secondhand-goods chapter regulates secondary metals recyclers more tightly than state law, capping cash purchases at $50.00, requiring next-business-day electronic reports to the sheriff's office on suspect regulated metals like catalytic converters and manhole covers, and mandating five-year record retention.
(a)Limitation on cash transactions for specified metals. A secondary metals recycler shall not enter into any cash transaction exceeding $50.00 for purchase of any suspect regulated metals property listed in subsection 98-35(a).(b)Payment procedures. For purchases exceeding $50.00 of any suspect regulated metals property listed in subsection 98-35(a), the following shall apply:(1)Payment by a secondary metals recycler shall be made by check issued to the seller of the metal and payable to the seller or by electronic payment to the seller's, or employee of the seller's, bank account;(2)Each check shall be mailed by the secondary metals recycler directly to the current address or bank account of the seller which is on file with the secondary metals recycler; and(3)Each check or electronic payment shall be mailed or electronically transferred by the secondary metals recycler to the seller within three days of the purchase transaction.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 108 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
ch. 538, per the article's stated purpose in Sec. 98-31, and it applies within both the unincorporated and incorporated areas of the county (Sec. 98-32). Sec. 00 for any purchase of suspect regulated metals property; above that threshold, payment must go by check mailed directly to the seller's address on file, or by electronic transfer to the seller's bank account, within three days of the transaction, with cash at the counter allowed only for sellers who prove nonprofit, government, bankruptcy-trustee, or commercial-vendor status. Sec. the next business day on every suspect-metal purchase, with records kept for five years.
Sec. 98-36 requires recyclers to keep a fax or similar device on hand at all times during business hours so the sheriff's office can send stolen-property alerts. Article I, covering secondhand dealers generally, is reserved, meaning the county has no separate general secondhand-goods licensing scheme beyond this metals-recycler regime, adopted by Ord. No. 2010-22 on January 20, 2011.
Violations & Fines
Violating Article II, accepting cash over $50.00 for regulated metals, skipping the sheriff's-office notification, or failing to retain purchase records, is punishable under Sec. 98-37, which incorporates the general penalty in Sec. 1-7: a fine up to $500.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with continuing violations charged separately for each day they persist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Volusia County scrap metal dealer pay cash for a catalytic converter?
Do secondhand metal dealers have to report purchases to police?
What items trigger the extra proof-of-ownership rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Volusia County
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