Springfield, MO Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Record retention
- at least 2 years
- Covers
- pawn, flea market, junk, coin dealers
- Open to
- any peace officer
- Daily reports
- to chief of police
- Photo required
- hard-to-describe gem/metal items
Summary
Springfield requires every secondhand dealer -- flea market merchants, coin dealers, junk dealers and more -- to keep a permanent, tamper-proof record of every item purchased, pawned, or bartered, open to police inspection for at least two years.
Every person regularly engaged in or conducting business for the purchase, sale, barter, exchange, recycling, reselling or pawn of antiques, coins, any metal including, but not limited to, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, brass, bronze and platinum, gems and semiprecious stones, watches, firearms, power tools, hand tools, computers, electronic equipment, cameras and camera equipment, including but not limited to film, digital and videotape still and motion picture cameras and camcorders, and associated recording and viewing equipment, electronic game equipment and game cartridges or discs, compact digital discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), musical instruments and equipment, bicycles, and any self-propelled device not required to be licensed by the state department of revenue, including but not limited to every pawnbroker, flea market merchant, secondhand dealer of the goods described in this section, coin dealer, jeweler, and junk dealer, both wholesale and retail, shall keep a substantial and well-bound book or other form of permanent record, in which he shall legibly and permanently enter a description of all personal property, including precious gems or metals, pledged with him or purchased by him
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 23 Update 2 | Land Development Code: Supplement 9 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 90-2 of the Springfield City Code covers 'every person regularly engaged in' buying, selling, bartering, or pawning secondhand goods, expressly naming pawnbrokers, flea market merchants, secondhand dealers, coin dealers, jewelers, and junk dealers. Each must keep a substantial, well-bound permanent record book describing every item taken in, including any identifying markings, and must photograph items containing precious gems or metals that are hard to describe. Records cannot be defaced or erased, must stay open to any peace officer along with the goods themselves, and must be retained for at least two years from the date of the last recorded transaction. Sec. 90-3 adds a further duty to report daily to the chief of police.
Violations & Fines
Failing to keep or produce required records is enforced under § 1-7's general penalty -- up to a $1,000 fine and 180 days in jail -- and can trigger suspension or revocation of the dealer's occupational license under § 70-51.
Frequently Asked Questions
What records must a Springfield secondhand dealer keep?
Does a flea market vendor count as a 'secondhand dealer' in Springfield?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Springfield
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