Whittier, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Whittier Municipal Code § 5.04.120(20)
- Annual license tax
- $100 per year or fraction thereof
- Excluded activities
- Garbage removal and dead-animal collection not covered
- First-offense fine
- $25 for unlicensed dealing (§1.08.015)
- Applies to
- Buying, selling, or collecting junk/used articles
Summary
Whittier requires anyone collecting, buying, or selling junk, rubbish, or old and used articles, from scrap metal to used auto parts, to hold a business license taxed at one hundred dollars per year under Municipal Code Section 5.04.120(20), and to follow the code's other regulatory provisions governing that trade.
20.Junk Dealer or Dealers in Old and Used Articles. Collecting, buying or selling at either retail or wholesale or otherwise dealing in junk and/or rubbish, manure, waste material, refuse, oil and other material of such consistency, and/or any old or used rags, sacks, bottles, cans, papers, metals, jewelry, precious or semiprecious metals, rubber, bric-a-brac, cordage, truck or automobile parts, truck or automobile accessories, and other like articles [...] one hundred dollars per year or fraction thereof; provided, however, that no license issued under the provisions of this subdivision shall be deemed or construed to authorize or permit the removal or collection of garbage as defined in this code, or the collection of dead animals; provided, further, that any person, whether acting as principal or agent, collecting or dealing in any of the articles enumerated in this subdivision and operating under a license provided for in this subdivision shall conform to and be governed by the regulatory provisions of this code;
Full Breakdown
120, subdivision 20 of the Whittier Municipal Code classifies "Junk Dealer or Dealers in Old and Used Articles" as a licensed occupation covering anyone collecting, buying, or selling, at retail or wholesale, junk, rubbish, manure, waste material, refuse, oil, or old and used rags, sacks, bottles, cans, papers, metals, jewelry, precious or semiprecious metals, rubber, bric-a-brac, cordage, or truck and automobile parts and accessories, whether those items are resold as collected or reworked into another form. The annual license tax for this classification is one hundred dollars per year or fraction thereof.
The subdivision expressly carves out two activities the license does not cover: it does not authorize removal or collection of garbage as defined elsewhere in the code, and it does not authorize collection of dead animals, both of which fall under separate refuse and animal-control provisions. 04: an application to the city, issuance by the license collector, a separate license for each business location, posting of the license at the place of business, and payment on the term and dates the chapter sets. 081 if a discrepancy is suspected.
Violations & Fines
Operating as a junk or secondhand dealer without first obtaining the license required by Section 5.04.120(20) is a separate offense for each day of operation under Section 5.04.180, punishable as an infraction: twenty-five dollars for a first violation, fifty dollars for a second within a year, and one hundred dollars for each further violation within that year, per Section 1.08.015. Paying the tax after conviction does not excuse the license fee already owed, under Section 5.04.170.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Whittier require a special license for junk or secondhand dealers?
Does the junk dealer license cover garbage or dead animal removal?
What is the penalty for dealing in junk without a license in Whittier?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Whittier
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