Smithtown, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Town Code § 194-5 makes it unlawful for anyone to act as a junk dealer or operate a junkyard in Smithtown, personally or through agents, without first obtaining a license and special permit from the Town Board; a dealer running more than one junkyard needs a separate permit for each yard. Itinerant junk dealers, defined as people who buy, sell, collect or deliver junk within the Town without operating a junkyard, instead need a license from the Town Clerk under § 194-5B. Chapter 194 defines "junk" broadly to cover scrap metal, old iron, brass, copper, rags, wastepaper, salvage material and discarded motor vehicles, but excludes construction and demolition debris.

The application under § 194-6 is extensive: it requires eleven copies, owner and employee names for the past five years, a site survey, zoning classification, a statement on prior convictions, two passport-style photographs, and two full sets of fingerprints. Under § 194-7, the Departments of Planning, Building, Engineering and Environment and Waterways must each sign off before the Town Clerk issues the license, which must be acted on within 45 days. The initial license fee is $1,000 under § 194-9, with a $500 annual renewal fee; bona fide nonprofit charitable organizations are exempt from both fees.

The Town Board may revoke or suspend a license after notice and hearing under § 194-13 for bad character, chapter violations, fraud in the application, or operating in a manner detrimental to public health or safety, and licensed junkyards get at least one inspection a year under § 194-12.