Vacaville, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

California regulates secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers at the state level with a uniform statutory framework that local agencies administer. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code Sections 21625-21647 define 'secondhand dealer' broadly to include any person, copartnership, firm, or corporation whose business includes buying, selling, trading, taking in pawn, accepting for sale on consignment, accepting for auctioning, or auctioning secondhand tangible personal property. Common secondhand goods covered include jewelry, watches, gemstones, gold, silver, platinum, electronics, cameras, musical instruments, firearms (with separate dealer licensing under Cal. Penal Code Section 26500 et seq.), tools, sporting equipment, and certain types of household goods, while certain categories (used books, used clothing, magazines, etc.) are statutorily excluded. To operate, a secondhand dealer must apply for a permit through the local law enforcement agency under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code Section 21641 (in Vacaville, the Vacaville Police Department); the application includes a Live Scan fingerprint background check, payment of a state-mandated fee, and identification of the business location. The dealer must report all transactions to the California Department of Justice through the California Pawn and Secondhand Dealer System (CAPSS) within the statutory timeframe under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code Section 21628 (generally next business day for tangible personal property, with longer windows for certain firearm and bulk transactions), maintain transaction records for the statutory period, and hold reportable items for 30 days from the date of transaction report under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code Section 21636 before resale, alteration, or removal. Pawnbrokers are additionally licensed under Cal. Financial Code Section 21000 et seq. and may carry separate state DFPI requirements. Vacaville Municipal Code Title 5 (Chapters 5.04, 5.08, 5.12) requires a city general business license on top of the state permit, with the license tax calculated under Chapter 5.12. The city has not adopted local rules above the state floor (e.g., extended holding periods, additional record-keeping, or local police-only reporting), so the state statute and CAPSS framework operate as the principal local-level rule set.