Taylor, MI Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- License term
- One year from issuance, not transferable
- Inspection
- City may inspect premises anytime, business hours
- Record deadline
- Purchase log due to police chief by Monday noon
- Retention period
- Purchased articles held at least 15 days
- Prohibited purchase hours
- 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and all day Sunday
- Unlicensed penalty
- Misdemeanor, fine up to $500 or 90 days jail
Summary
Taylor requires anyone dealing in secondhand goods, scrap metal or junk to hold a city license before opening for business. City Code Section 40-86 authorizes a one-year license that cannot be transferred, ties the business to one designated address, sets the fee by council resolution, and lets the city inspect the licensed premises at any time during normal business hours.
(a)The city may grant to any person, corporation, co-partnership or firm, a license authorizing that person, corporation, co-partnership or firm to carry on the business of a secondhand dealer or junk dealer subject to the provisions of this article.(b)The license shall designate the particular place where that person, corporation, co-partnership, or firm shall carry on that business. The business shall be conducted only in the place designated in the license.(c)The license shall be for the period of one year from date of issuance unless sooner revoked for cause and is not transferable. The city council shall establish the fee for the processing and issuance of the license.(d)The city may inspect the premises of a licensed secondhand or junk dealer at any time during normal business hours.
Full Breakdown
Before opening, a secondhand or junk dealer must apply for a license under Section 40-85, which bars anyone from carrying on the business in Taylor without one; internet drop-off stores that keep two years of transaction records, publish photographed inventory searchable by zip code, and never pay sellers in cash are exempt from licensure under subsection (c). Section 40-86 lets the city council set the license fee by resolution, ties the license to the single address named on it, caps its term at one year unless revoked for cause, and reserves the city's right to inspect the premises at any time during normal business hours.
Once licensed, dealers must post a sign naming the business in a conspicuous spot and keep a numbered book or electronic record under Section 40-87 recording each seller's name, description, fingerprint, driver's license or state ID number, plate number and address, along with the date, hour and source of every purchase; payment can only be made by check or electronic transfer, never cash. Section 40-88 requires purchased articles to be tagged and held for at least 15 days before resale, and the dealer must deliver a legible copy of that week's purchase record to the chief of police by noon every Monday.
Section 40-90 bars any purchase between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., on a Sunday, from an intoxicated person, from anyone under 17 without written parental consent, or from a person known or suspected to be a thief.
Violations & Fines
Operating as a secondhand or junk dealer without a license, or violating the recordkeeping, retention or purchase-hour rules in Sections 40-85 through 40-90, is not designated a civil infraction, so under the Code's general penalty clause, Section 1-13, it defaults to a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $500.00 plus costs of prosecution, imprisonment up to 90 days, or both; the city may also revoke the dealer's license for cause under Section 40-86(c).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Taylor require a license to run a secondhand or junk dealer business?
Are online resale or drop-off businesses exempt?
What records must a secondhand dealer keep on each purchase?
When can a dealer resell what they bought?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Taylor
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