This section aims to stop the trading of stolen goods and help recover them through a unified, statewide system. It applies to businesses mainly dealing in buying, selling, auctioning, or pawning tangible items. These businesses must report such transactions to assist in preventing sales tax evasion and work with law enforcement to track stolen goods. The law ensures this system prevails over any local rules.

This law defines a 'secondhand dealer' as anyone whose business involves dealing with previously owned tangible personal items, like buying or selling such goods. It doesn’t include coin dealers or people at gun shows who meet certain criteria and follow specified regulations. A 'coin dealer' is someone whose main business is trading coins or precious metals like gold or silver.

This law explains who is not considered a 'secondhand dealer.' It clarifies that auctioneers and businesses focused on fixing and selling major household appliances under specific conditions are not secondhand dealers. These appliance businesses must only buy appliances in bulk, cannot perform repair services for appliances that weren't bought from them, and their owners shouldn't have theft-related criminal convictions.

This section defines 'tangible personal property' for secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers in California. It includes secondhand items with serial numbers, personalized marks, items received as loan security, or items listed as commonly stolen by the Attorney General. However, it excludes new merchandise bought from legitimate sellers, coins, and precious metal ingots. Additionally, a significant class of stolen goods is defined as those items constituting over 10% of stolen property, as updated on official crime databases.

This law defines CAPSS as an electronic system used across California to collect reports from secondhand dealers. It's managed by the Department of Justice and is funded by a specific fund meant to support these activities.

This law requires secondhand and coin dealers to report their acquired or traded goods (except firearms) to the California Pawn and SecondhandDealer System (CAPSS) daily, or by the next business day. They must provide a detailed item description, which may include a serial number and other identifying details. Dealers also need to record the identification of sellers, which can be done using a valid form of ID. If the item is a handheld electronic device, specific identifiers like the IMEI number are needed. Dealers must amend any errors in reports within three business days after being notified. At gun shows or events outside their licensed area, dealers might need to report transactions to local authorities. This law took effect on January 1, 2023.

This law section mandates that secondhand dealers must electronically report every firearm they acquire—whether by purchase, trade, pawn, consignment, or auction—to the Department of Justice on the day of the transaction. Dealers must retain and provide copies of their reports for law enforcement inspection. The Department can keep these reports to check if any reported firearms are lost or stolen and must notify relevant law enforcement if so. Additionally, the reported information is shared with local law enforcement within one working day.

This law requires secondhand dealers to check the ID of the person selling or pawning items each time they complete a transaction. They don’t need to check the ID separately for every item being reported within the same transaction.

If you deal in used business machines—like typewriters or cash registers—you need to report transactions, like purchases or sales, to local law enforcement. This includes machines you repair, unless you've repaired a machine you originally sold new to its current owner. "Business machines" don't include office furniture.

This section states that certain types of secondhand property transactions are exempt from the usual reporting requirements for secondhand dealers. These exemptions apply if the property is acquired from another secondhand dealer with proper documentation, through a bulk sale for business liquidation, from a judicial sale, as surplus government property, or is reported under other legal requirements. Additionally, exemptions exist for certain transactions involving precious metals conducted by certified or infrequent dealers. Documentation must be kept for three years and be available for law enforcement inspection.

This law section specifies that even if a secondhand dealer acquires property with the plan or promise that the original owner or their representative will buy it back later, the rules of this article still apply to that property.

This law requires secondhand and coin dealers to send a report of any new items they acquire to a specific system called CAPSS by the next business day, unless it’s a weekend or holiday, or there's a technical issue. They don’t have to report if they’ve reported the purchase of the same item from the same person within the last year.

This law says that pawnshops, secondhand dealers, and coin dealers in California must report all physical items found in their shops as required by another section of the law. They need to provide specific details on a form according to the rules. If nobody claims the item after 60 days, the dealer can consider the item as part of their regular inventory and do what they normally do with such items.

If the chief of police or sheriff gets a report that's filed under the rules of this article, they must send the original of that report to the Department of Justice every day.

If you're a secondhand or coin dealer in California handling firearms, you must keep any acquired guns for at least 30 days. This holding period starts when you report the acquisition electronically to the Department of Justice. During this time, authorities can inspect the firearms. If the guns are stored away from your shop, you must bring them back for inspection within a day if requested. If you're selling at a gun show outside your licensed area, local law enforcement can request to inspect the firearms within 48 hours. In some cases, the Department of Justice might allow guns to be sold before the 30 days are up, but you’ll need to report those sales, too.

If you are a secondhand or coin dealer in California, you must keep any new items you acquire on hand for seven days before selling them. During this period, law enforcement can ask to inspect the items. If you sell an item after five days, you must keep a record of the buyer's name, address, and contact details. You don't need to verify the buyer's information, but you do need to keep it for 21 days and allow police to see it. If police say the item was stolen, you must share the buyer's details with them.

This law states that secondhand or coin dealers cannot make promises to sellers that they can buy back their items after selling them to the dealer.

If someone's business requires a specific license under another legal section, they must include their license number in any public advertisements related to that business.

This law states that while other local or state laws about reporting, holding, or releasing tangible personal property must still be followed, there are limits on what local governments and state agencies can require. Specifically, they cannot make rules about holding, reporting, or identifying transactions involving coins, precious metals, and certain acquisitions by pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers.

These transactions are instead covered under specific sections of the code, which means that local laws can't impose additional requirements beyond what state law specifies.

This section allows local governments in California to make their own rules about secondhand and coin dealers, as long as they don't clash with state laws. However, they can't impose extra rules about how long dealers need to keep records or report transactions involving coins, bullion, or precious metal ingots. The same goes for rules concerning property transactions by pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers unless specified under certain existing state laws.

This law states that the rules about holding periods for personal property do not apply when someone retrieves or redeems property they had pledged to a pawnbroker.

If you want to run a secondhand business, you must have the right license, or you're breaking the law.

If you want to get a license to run a secondhand business, the local police or sheriff's office must approve your application if you haven't been convicted of any crimes related to stolen property. Before approval, your application will be checked by the Department of Justice. Approval should happen if there are no comments from them within 30 days. You'll need to pay application fees set by the Department of Justice plus possible extra fees from your local authority to cover processing costs. Even if you've broken some rules before, you can still get the license unless there's a pattern of bad behavior. If you're already licensed to sell firearms and hold a local secondhand dealer license, you can sell as a secondhand dealer at gun shows across California without needing extra permissions or fees, as long as you follow the usual secondhand dealer rules at the event.

This law is about renewing a license for secondhand dealers every two years. To renew, the dealer must apply and pay fees set by their local licensing authority and the Department of Justice. The business must operate only at approved locations, display their license visibly, and avoid illegal actions. If there are serious breaches, the license can be taken away. However, a license won't be denied or revoked for minor violations unless there's a consistent pattern of such behavior.

This section of the law outlines the fees and procedures for obtaining and renewing certain licenses relating to secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers. The Department of Justice can charge a fee up to $300 for these licenses and may adjust it based on inflation. The fees must cover processing and maintaining the required systems. A fee of up to $288 is also required from existing license holders after the enactment of the law. All fees are collected into a designated fund to support regulatory activities. Additionally, applicants must provide fingerprint information for background checks, with related processing fees being used to manage this process.

You cannot do certain transactions that need to be reported with anyone under 18.

This law states that if you break any rule in this article and you know or should have known you were doing something wrong, it’s a misdemeanor. For the first time, you could be fined up to $1,500 or jailed for up to two months, or both. For a second offense, the fine can go up to $5,000 or you can be jailed for up to four months, or both. If you keep breaking the law, the fine can increase to $25,000 or jail time can be up to six months, or both.

This law allows police officers to hold on to items, except for certain valuables like coins and ingots, that they believe are lost, stolen, or embezzled if they're in a pawnbroker's or secondhand dealer's possession. The officer can place a 90-day hold on these items, which means the items can't be sold or discarded unless the officer permits it. If the items are needed for a criminal investigation, they may be physically taken or left with the shop as a custodian. This hold can be extended if necessary, but the pawnbroker must keep the items safe and cannot release them without written authorization. If the property was misreported by unlicensed dealers, officers can still seize it. If the items aren't needed anymore, they should be returned to the pawnbroker. When someone reports items as stolen, they will be notified and have 60 days to claim them. Finally, pawnbrokers and dealers aren't liable for following these rules.