Warrick County, IN Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Warrick County Code Chapter 111 requires any dealer, resident or itinerant, buying secondhand gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, or other precious stones and metals to hold a county license before operating in unincorporated Warrick County, Indiana. Under § 111.02, resident dealers running a fixed local location pay a $50 annual license running January 1 to December 31, prorated quarterly if issued after January 1, while itinerant dealers operating from a temporary shop, hotel, or motel room pay $50 for their first day and $25 for each day after, capped at $2,500 a year.

Section 111.03 requires the application go to the Sheriff's Department at least five days before licensing and include the applicant's name and aliases, business addresses, a recent photograph, fingerprints, any criminal conviction history, and, if the applicant worked in the trade within the last 18 months, the name and address of that prior employer; refusing to provide required information or to be fingerprinted is grounds for denial. Section 111.04 requires a $1,000 bond, a surety bond for resident dealers or a cash bond for nonresident and itinerant dealers, payable to Warrick County.

Under § 111.05, a dealer cannot buy from a minor without written parental or guardian consent, must check picture identification such as a driver's license or passport before paying a seller, and must take the seller's signature and right thumbprint on the purchase record, keeping records for one year. Section 111.06 requires reporting every purchase to the Sheriff's Department by noon the next business day, including the seller's identifying information and a full item description, with items held at least five business days before resale, and the Sheriff can mandate a digital reporting service such as Leads Online.

Section 111.07 bars reselling or removing purchased items from the dealer's place of business for five days after the purchase report reaches the Sheriff's Department.