Simi Valley, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Chief of Police, before operating
- Sign requirement
- Street-visible, states 'secondhand dealer'
- Daily report deadline
- 2:00 p.m. for prior day's goods
- Closed hours
- 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
- Exempt
- Bookstores dealing solely in books
Summary
Secondhand dealers need a Chief of Police license before buying or reselling used goods in Simi Valley, must post a visible sign naming the business as a secondhand dealer, and file the same daily transaction reports pawnbrokers do. Bookstores dealing solely in books are exempt.
"Secondhand dealer" shall mean any person who, in the course of business, buys, sells, or deals in secondhand goods, wares, or merchandise other than motor vehicles or junk. A person who accepts secondhand goods, wares, or merchandise in part payment coincidentally with the sale by him of new goods, wares, or merchandise in the regular course of his business shall not, with respect to such goods, wares, and merchandise so acquired, be deemed to be a secondhand dealer. ... No person, either as principal or agent, shall engage in the business of junk collector, junk dealer, secondhand dealer, or pawnbroker, without first obtaining a license therefor. ... Every junk dealer and secondhand dealer shall maintain on the premises where such business is located a sign, plainly printed in the English language and of sufficient size so that the sign may be easily read from the street in front of the place of business, stating that he is a junk dealer or secondhand dealer.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 51).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 13 defines a "secondhand dealer" as any person who, in the course of business, buys, sells, or deals in secondhand goods, wares, or merchandise other than motor vehicles or junk; a retailer who simply takes trade-ins alongside new merchandise sales isn't swept in. 03 disclosing the business address, trade name, and every owner's name and address. 18 adds a signage duty specific to secondhand and junk dealers: the business must post a sign, printed in English and large enough to read from the street, stating that it is a secondhand dealer; a business run from an office or a department of a larger building must post the sign at that door or entrance instead.
13). m. 14). 20). 21 carves out bookstores dealing solely in books, though they remain subject to any State reporting duties for identifiable secondhand property under Business and Professions Code Sections 21625 through 21639.
Violations & Fines
Buying or reselling secondhand goods without a Chief of Police license, skipping the daily 2:00 p.m. transaction report, operating without the required street-visible sign, or transacting between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. all violate Chapter 13, enforced under the Code's general Title 1 infraction and misdemeanor schedule, with a three-month lockout on relicensing after revocation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What license does a secondhand store need in Simi Valley?
Does a secondhand shop have to post any special signage?
Are used bookstores subject to Simi Valley's secondhand dealer rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Simi Valley
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Secondhand Dealers in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Ventura County handle secondhand dealers.