CHAPTER 3. Licensure [21300. - 21307.]

Cal. Financial Code - FIN 3.
in effect

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21300. Section 21300.

(a) The chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission shall accept an application for and grant a license permitting the licensee to engage in the business of pawnbroker, as defined in Section 21000, at the address indicated on the application, to an applicant who has complied with the requirements of Sections 21303, 21303.5, 21304, and 21305 and has not been convicted of an attempt to receive stolen property or any other offense involving stolen property. Prior to the granting of a license, the licensing authority shall submit the application to the Department of Justice. If the Department of Justice does not comment on the application within 30 days thereafter, the licensing authority shall grant the applicant a license. All forms for application and licensure, and license renewal, shall be prescribed and provided by the Department of Justice. A fee shall be charged to the applicant by the Department of Justice, as specified in Section 21642.5 of the Business and Professions Code, for processing the initial license application and funding the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system set forth in Section 21628 of the Business and Professions Code. The licensing authority shall collect the fee and transmit the fee to the Department of Justice. In addition, the police chief, sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission, may charge a fee to the applicant not to exceed the actual costs incurred to process the application and to collect and transmit the fee charged by the Department of Justice. (b) For the purposes of this section, “convicted” means a plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), no person shall be denied a pawnbroker’s license solely on the grounds that they violated any provision contained in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 21000) or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 21200), or any provision contained in Article 4 (commencing with Section 21625) or Article 5 (commencing with Section 21650) of Chapter 9 of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, unless the violation demonstrates a pattern of conduct. (d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21300.1. Section 21300.1.

It is unlawful for any person who is not duly licensed under this section to act as a pawnbroker or represent himself, herself, or a business entity to be a pawnbroker or a pawnbrokerage business entity.

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21301. Section 21301.

(a) A license granted pursuant to Section 21300 shall be renewable the second year from the date of issue, and every other year thereafter, upon the filing of a renewal application, payment of a renewal fee specified by the licensing authority as described in this subdivision, and compliance with the requirements of Section 21303. The Department of Justice shall also require the licensee, in addition to any locally assessed fee as set forth herein, to pay a fee as described in Section 21642.5 of the Business and Professions Code. The licensing authority shall collect the fee and transmit the fee and a copy of the renewed license to the Department of Justice. The police chief, sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission may charge a fee not to exceed the actual costs incurred to process the renewal application of the licensee and to collect and transmit the fee charged by the Department of Justice. (b) The license shall be subject to forfeiture by the licensing authority, and the licensee’s activities as a pawnbroker shall be subject to being enjoined pursuant to Section 21302, for breach of any of the following conditions: (1) The business shall be carried on only at the location designated on the license. The license shall designate all locations where property belonging to the business is stored. Property of the business may be stored at locations not designated on the license only with the written consent of the local licensing authority. (2) The license or a copy thereof, certified by the licensing authority, shall be displayed on the premises in plain view of the public. (3) The licensee shall not engage in any act that the licensee knows to be in violation of this article. (4) The licensee shall not be convicted of an attempt to receive stolen property or other offense involving stolen property. For the purposes of this paragraph, “convicted” means a plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. Any action that the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission is permitted to take following that conviction may be taken when the time for appeal has elapsed, the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal, or an order granting probation is made suspending the imposition of sentence, irrespective of a subsequent order under Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code. (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), no renewal application for a pawnbroker’s license may be denied, nor may his or her pawnbroker’s license be forfeited, solely on the grounds that the applicant violated any provision contained in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 21000) or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 21200), or any provision contained in Article 4 (commencing with Section 21625) or Article 5 (commencing with Section 21650) of Chapter 9 of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, unless the violation demonstrates a pattern of conduct.

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21301.1. Section 21301.1.

It is unlawful for any person to advertise his or her services as a pawnbroker, or to use any words or parts of words in any advertisements that connote a transaction involving the taking of tangible personal property as security for a loan unless the pawnbroker’s license number is clearly displayed in the advertisement.

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21302. Section 21302.

The district attorney or the Attorney General, in the name of the people of the State of California, may bring an action to enjoin the violation or the threatened violation of any regulation made pertaining to the provisions contained in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 21000) or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 21200) of this division or Article 4 (commencing with Section 21625) or Article 5 (commencing with Section 21650) of Chapter 9 of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code. Any proceeding brought hereunder shall be governed in all respects by the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21303. Section 21303.

(a) As a condition precedent to the issuance or renewal of a pawnbroker’s license the applicant shall file a pawnbroker’s two-year nonrevokable surety bond with the issuing authority, in the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). The pawnbroker’s bond required by this article shall be executed by an admitted surety in favor of the State of California and shall be filed by the applicant with the licensing authority. (b) The bond shall be for the benefit of pledgors of pledged property when the property is not available for redemption, due to the criminal negligence, criminal malfeasance, or other criminal conduct of the pawnbroker, and the pledgor has complied with the conditions precedent to redemption under the terms of the loan contract. The pledgor has the burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that all conditions precedent to redemption under the terms of the loan contract have been performed.

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21303.5. Section 21303.5.

(a) On and after January 1, 2026, as a condition precedent to issuing a new pawnbroker’s license, the applicant shall complete at least eight hours of prelicensing education approved by the California Pawnbroker Education Council pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 21400) and submit to the licensing agency a certificate of completion issued by the council pursuant to Section 21409. (b) On and after January 1, 2026, as a condition precedent to renewing a pawnbroker’s license, the applicant shall complete at least eight hours of continuing education approved by the California Pawnbrokers Education Council pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 21400) and submit to the licensing agency a certificate of completion issued by the council pursuant to Section 21409. (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21304. Section 21304.

(a) As a condition precedent to the issuing of a pawnbroker’s license, the applicant shall file with the issuing authority a financial statement confirming that the applicant has at least one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in the form of liquid assets readily available for use in each licensed business for which the application is made, not including real property, or, in the absence of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), an applicant may post a nonrevocable surety bond in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or the applicant may, in lieu of posting a surety bond, deposit money, certificates, accounts, bonds, or notes, as provided in Section 995.710 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The financial statement shall be filed by the applicant under penalty of perjury and signed by a California certified public accountant verifying that he or she has reviewed the financial statement. (b) This section does not apply to any person holding a secondhand dealer’s license pursuant to Section 21641 or 21642 of the Business and Professions Code who is actively engaged as a pawnbroker on the effective date of this section.

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21306. Section 21306.

A pawnbroker licensed under Section 21300 is exempt from the licensing requirements under Sections 21641 and 21642 of the Business and Professions Code and may engage in any transaction involving tangible personal property for which a secondhand dealers license is required under Sections 21641 and 21642 of the Business and Professions Code. Pawnbrokers operating under this license exemption are required to conform to all other requirements of secondhand dealers for which a license is required under Sections 21641 and 21642 of the Business and Professions Code.

Cal. Financial Code - FIN § 21307. Section 21307.

Except as otherwise specifically provided, the violation of any provision of this chapter under circumstances where a person knows or should have known that a violation was being committed is a misdemeanor.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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