General information on licences
What do they allow licence holders to do?
A licence holder is authorised to:
- carry on business as a secondhand dealer;
- act as a pawnbroker; or
- do both.
As an individual licence holder you are regarded as holding a
certificate. You can, therefore, conduct transactions or issue pledge
tickets personally or through a certificate holder whom you authorise to
act on your behalf.
A company that holds a licence can only enter into transactions or
issue pledge tickets through certificate holders.
Form of licence
There is no specified form for a licence under the Secondhand Dealers
and Pawnbrokers Act. However, every licence issued to an individual
licence holder, will contain a photograph of that licence holder.
Certified copies of the licence
When your licence is issued, the Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Licensing Authority
will issue you or your business with as many certified copies
as is necessary to enable you to display a copy at every place of
business. These certified copies will not necessarily be in the same
format as the original licence.
Expiry and renewal of licences
Unless your licence is cancelled earlier, it will be valid for five
years from its date of issue.
Generally, a licence will expire five years from the date on which
the licence was issued. If the licence holder applies for the renewal of
the licence before the five-year period has expired, the licence will
continue in force until the renewal application has been considered. An
application for renewal of a licence is the same as an
application for a new licence.
Your licence will expire when you return it, and all certified copies
of the licence, to the Secondhand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Licensing
Authority. You should return your licence and its certified copies if,
at any stage, you decide not to continue to trade. In those
circumstances, your licence will expire on the date that the Licensing
Authority receives the documents.
