Snohomish County, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Annual fee
- $250.00 per year
- Exempt sellers
- Intermittent, antique, consignment, book dealers
- $75 item threshold
- Pulls stamps/coins/books into rules
- Hold period
- 30 days before resale
- Hours
- 6:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. only
- Violation penalty
- Gross misdemeanor (RCW 9A.20.021)
Summary
Buying and reselling used goods for a living in unincorporated Snohomish County requires a secondhand dealer license under SCC 6.19.010, priced at $250.00 a year, unless you qualify as an intermittent seller, antique dealer, consignment operator, or used book dealer under SCC 6.19.005(6). Licensed dealers must log every transaction and hold goods 30 days before resale.
"Secondhand dealer" means any person engaged in whole or in part in the business of purchasing, selling, trading, or bartering secondhand personal property, including metal, junk, or melted metals; PROVIDED, That the term shall not apply to any person who: (a) Is an intermittent seller of personal property, an antique dealer, a consignment store owner or a used book dealer as defined by this chapter... It is unlawful for any person to engage in a business as a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer without first having obtained a license. The license shall include a photograph of the licensee.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through legislation passed August 12, 2026).
Full Breakdown
SCC 6.19.005(6) defines a secondhand dealer as anyone engaged in purchasing, selling, trading, or bartering secondhand personal property, including metal, junk, or melted metals, but the definition carves out categories that do not need this license: intermittent sellers (fewer than four sales a year from a residence), antique dealers, consignment store operators, used book dealers, and anyone licensed instead as a motor vehicle dealer or wrecker under RCW 46.70 or 46.80. SCC 6.19.010(1) makes operating as a secondhand dealer without a license unlawful, and SCC 6.19.020 sets the license term at one year with the fee fixed by SCC 6.01.050(2) at $250.00 per year.
"Secondhand personal property" itself is defined in SCC 6.19.005(8) to exclude postage stamps, legal-tender coin, hallmarked bullion bars, used books, and clothing, unless a single item is worth $75.00 or more, in which case SCC 6.19.010(2) pulls it back into the recordkeeping, reporting, holding, and prohibited-seller rules. Once licensed, a dealer must keep the same detailed permanent transaction record required of pawnbrokers under SCC 6.19.030, including the seller's identification, a description of the goods down to serial numbers, and a thumbprint, and must transmit daily transaction transcripts to the sheriff under SCC 6.19.050.
Purchased goods cannot leave the shop for 30 days except on redemption (SCC 6.19.070), and a dealer cannot buy from anyone under 18, intoxicated, or previously convicted of theft or burglary within 10 years (SCC 6.19.080). Business hours are limited to 6:00 a.m. through 9:00 p.m. absent sheriff-approved permission (SCC 6.19.100).
Violations & Fines
SCC 6.19.110 treats a secondhand dealer's or employee's failure to keep accurate transaction records, falsification or destruction of those records, false reporting to the sheriff, or knowingly buying from a prohibited seller as a gross misdemeanor under RCW 9A.20.021. SCC 6.19.115 separately makes it unlawful for a licensed dealer to employ anyone without a valid employee license issued under Chapter 6.20 SCC.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a license to run a secondhand store in Snohomish County?
How much does a secondhand dealer license cost?
Do garage sales or occasional online sellers need this license?
What records must a licensed secondhand dealer keep?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Snohomish County
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