Tucson, AZ Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Section 7-97(3) defines a "secondhand dealer" as anyone buying, selling, or dealing in secondhand goods with a fair market value over $100, or dealing in coins, gems, jewelry, precious metals, DVDs, or serial-numbered goods regardless of value: expressly excluding nonprofits, dealer-to-dealer transactions, and estate sales. Under § 7-98(b), it is unlawful for a secondhand dealer or employee to "fail, neglect, or refuse to deliver to the chief of police, within two (2) business days," a complete report of enumerated goods received including coins, gems, jewelry, precious metals, bicycles, golf clubs, body armor, and any serial-numbered item; transactions cannot be split into smaller pieces to dodge the reporting threshold.

Section 7-102(b) requires that no secondhand dealer may sell, trade, purchase, or otherwise deal in reportable goods "without first obtaining the appropriate licenses from the finance department and paying the tax imposed by section 19-85," and all secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers must complete chief-of-police training on Article V's requirements. That tax, under § 19-85(a), is a flat $1,000 annual occupational license tax on every secondhand dealer at a fixed city location, due March 1 per § 19-86; out-of-city dealers who work temporary locations like hotels or convention centers instead pay $500 for one or two shows a year, or $1,000 for three or more, per § 19-85(b).

A dealer who filed fewer than 1,000 police reports the prior year is exempt from the tax under § 19-85(c). Dealers must keep a permanent, two-year transaction record under § 7-101(a), available for police inspection during business hours, and may not accept goods from anyone under 18 or visibly intoxicated under § 7-102(a)(1). Every Article V violation, including unlicensed operation or a missed report, is a misdemeanor under § 7-103.