Secondhand Dealers in Ohio

Baldwin's Ohio Revised Code Annotated
Title XLVII. Occupations--Professions (Refs & Annos)
Chapter 4737. Secondhand Dealers; Junk Yards (Refs & Annos)
Secondhand Dealers

4737.01 Duty of dealer in secondhand articles; identification required from seller; records

 (A) “Personal identification card” means a current and valid driver's license, military identification card, state identification card issued under sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of the Revised Code, or a state identification card issued by another state on the condition that that card contains information substantially similar to the information contained on a state identification card issued under sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of the Revised Code and also contains a photograph of the person to whom the card is issued.
(B) A person other than a scrap metal dealer, as defined in section 4737.04 of the Revised Code, purchasing, selling, exchanging, or receiving secondhand articles of any kind other than special purchase articles as defined in section 4737.04 of the Revised Code, scrap iron, and scrap metal, shall post in a conspicuous place in or upon the person's shop, store, wagon, boat, or other place of business, a sign having the person's name and occupation legibly inscribed thereon, and shall keep a separate record book or electronic file in which shall be written, in the English language, at the time of the purchase or exchange of such articles, a description thereof, the name, description, and residence of the person from whom purchased and received, and the day and time when such purchase or exchange was made, and shall make and keep a copy of the person's personal identification card. Every entry shall be numbered consecutively, commencing with number one.
The purchaser shall retain the record book or electronic file and copies of personal identification cards for at least one year after the purchase or exchange date and shall make the record or file and copies available for inspection by any law enforcement officer at all reasonable times.

4737.011 Exemption of precious metals dealers

Sections 4737.01 to 4737.04 of the Revised Code do not apply to the business of purchasing articles that are made of or contain gold, silver, platinum, or other precious metals or jewels. For purposes of this section, a person is engaged in the “business of purchasing articles that are made of or contain gold, silver, platinum, or other precious metals or jewels” if and to the extent that, in any manner, he holds himself out to the public as willing to purchase such articles for a consideration, and he intends to resell such articles, whether in the same or a different form or condition as when purchased.

4737.012 Bulk merchandise container dealers

 (A) Notwithstanding division (A) of section 4737.01 of the Revised Code, a dealer who is in the business of purchasing, reselling, exchanging, recycling, shredding, or receiving bulk merchandise containers shall not purchase or receive plastic bulk merchandise containers that are marked with a company name or logo, or more than nine wooden bulk merchandise containers, from any other person at one time, unless the dealer maintains a record book or electronic file in which the dealer keeps an accurate and complete record of all containers purchased or received by the dealer. Every entry in the record book or electronic file shall be numbered consecutively. Until the registry developed by the director of public safety pursuant to section 4737.045 of the Revised Code is operational, a dealer shall maintain the record for each container purchased or received for a minimum period of one year after the date the dealer purchased or received the container. Beginning on the date the registry is operational, a dealer shall maintain the record for each container purchased or received only for a period of sixty days after the date the dealer purchased or received the container. The director shall adopt rules for the format and maintenance of the records required under this division.
The records shall contain all of the following:
(1) The name and residence of the person from whom the containers were purchased or received, a copy of that person's personal identification card, and, if required, a photograph of the person taken pursuant to division (B)(2) of this section;
(2) A description of the containers, including the number purchased or received and, if required, a photograph of the containers taken pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section;
(3) The date and time the dealer purchased or received the containers;
(4) If the seller or provider of the containers arrives at the dealer's place of business in a motor vehicle, the license plate number of that motor vehicle along with the state that issued the license plate.
(B) Every dealer who is in the business of reselling bulk merchandise containers shall take a photograph, in accordance with rules adopted by the director, of both of the following:
(1) Each container for which the dealer must make a record under division (A) of this section;
(2) Each person who sells or otherwise gives the dealer the containers.
The dealer shall take the required photographs at the time the dealer purchases or receives the containers and shall keep the photographs as part of the record in accordance with division (A) of this section.
(C) A dealer who is in the business of purchasing, reselling, exchanging, recycling, shredding, or receiving bulk merchandise containers shall fulfill the requirements of section 4737.041 of the Revised Code with respect to the containers purchased or received by the dealer for which the dealer must make a record under division (A) of this section. No dealer shall purchase or receive any bulk merchandise container for which the dealer must make a record under division (A) of this section without complying with division (B),(C), or (D) of section 4737.041 of the Revised Code.
(D) As used in this section, “bulk merchandise container” means a plastic or wooden carrier or holder used by a manufacturer or distributor to transport merchandise to wholesale and retail outlets.

4737.02 If dealer is a peddler, he need not hold property thirty days

If the purchaser or receiver, by exchange or otherwise, as described in section 4737.01 of the Revised Code, is a peddler, or goes about with a wagon to purchase or obtain, by exchange or otherwise, any of such articles not excepted, and does not have a place of business in a building, he need not retain such articles for thirty days before selling them, provided, on Monday of each week, he files with the mayor of the municipal corporation in which is located the place of business of the person to whom such sale is made, a copy of the record required by such section to be kept in a separate book, of the articles purchased or received during the preceding week, including a description of such articles sold, to whom sold, and his place of business.

4737.03 Not to deal with minors; nor at certain hours

No person shall purchase or receive by sale, barter, exchange, or otherwise, an article mentioned in sections 4737.01 to 4737.03, inclusive, of the Revised Code, of a minor or apprentice, knowing or having reason to believe him to be such, or from any person between the hours of nine p.m. and seven a.m.

4737.041 Duties with respect to special purchase articles and bulk merchandise containers

A scrap metal dealer or bulk merchandise container dealer shall do all of the following with respect to each special purchase article the scrap metal dealer purchases or receives or with respect to each bulk merchandise container a bulk merchandise container dealer purchases or receives that is subject to division (A) of section 4737.012 of the Revised Code:
(A) Comply with the requirements of this section in addition to complying with the applicable requirements of section 4737.012 or4737.04 of the Revised Code;
(B) Take a photograph of each special purchase article or bulk merchandise container;
(C) Obtain from the seller or provider of the special purchase article or bulk merchandise container proof that the seller or provider owns the special purchase article or bulk merchandise container;
(D) If payment is rendered for the special purchase articles or bulk merchandise containers, issue a check for the purchase of the special purchase articles or bulk merchandise containers;
(E) Withhold payment for the purchase of the special purchase articles or bulk merchandise containers for a period of two days after the day the special purchase articles or bulk merchandise containers are purchased;
(F) If an asserted owner of stolen special purchase articles or bulk merchandise containers or that owner's agent provides proof of having filed a stolen property report with the appropriate law enforcement agency, make records describing special purchase articles or bulk merchandise containers the dealer purchased or received after the alleged date of theft available for inspection to the asserted owner or owner's agent for a period of six months after the alleged date of theft of the articles, except that the dealer shall withhold the name of the person from whom the special purchase articles or bulk merchandise containers were purchased or received and the amount paid for the special purchase articles or bulk merchandise containers.

4737.042 Electronic recording of identification

A scrap metal dealer and a person who purchases, sells, exchanges, or receives secondhand articles may use an electronic device that decodes and records information contained in the metallic strip on a personal identification card to record a person's name, address, and photograph in lieu of making a copy of a person's personal identification card to comply with the requirements ofsections 4737.01, 4737.04, and 4737.041 of the Revised Code, on the condition that the dealer or person retains that recorded information and makes it available in accordance with the requirements to make copies available under those sections.

4737.043 Exempt transactions

Sections 4737.04 and 4737.041 of the Revised Code do not apply with respect to any of the following:
(A) The donation of articles to nonprofit organizations or to any other person, on the condition that the person donating the articles receives no payment or any other valuable consideration in exchange for or due to donating the articles;
(B) The sale or donation of common recycled matter;
(C) Sales transacted between a scrap metal dealer and an organization that is exempt from federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the “Internal Revenue Code of 1986,” 100 Stat. 285, 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), as amended, and that collects, for its own fundraising purposes, scrap ferrous and nonferrous metals for recycling rather than disposal;
(D) Sales transacted between a scrap metal dealer and a government unit or another business, including a demolition company, public utility company, or another scrap metal dealer, on the condition that the government unit or business satisfies the following criteria:
(1) In the course of providing the government unit's or business's services to others or maintaining the government unit's or business's property, whether onsite or offsite, the government unit or business generates scrap ferrous and nonferrous metals for recycling rather than disposal.
(2) If the sales transaction involves a government unit, reference to the government unit as a bona fide unit of government can be readily found by the public.
(3) If the sales transaction involves a business, the business satisfies one of the following criteria:
(a) The business is registered with the secretary of state.
(b) The business has been issued a license under section 5739.17 of the Revised Code.
(c) The business advertises its services in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for not less than six consecutive months or provides a receipt showing payment for such advertising, a telephone book, electronic media that is available to the public, or some other type of media that is owned and operated by a person other than the business and, if an individual operates the business, the individual advertising the business has a specific place of business that is not the individual's permanent home residence.
(4) The government unit provides proof of compliance with division (D)(2) of this section or the business provides proof of compliance with division (D)(3) of this section to the scrap metal dealer with whom the government unit or business transacts business.
(E) Sales transacted between a scrap metal dealer and a person whose primary business is to create products that result in bulk quantities of ferrous and nonferrous metal used for recycling rather than disposal.
(F) Sales of catalytic converters transacted between a scrap metal dealer and a motor vehicle dealer as defined in section 4517.01 of the Revised Code.

4737.044 Prohibitions against enforcement of conflicting local regulations and tag and hold

No municipal corporation or other political subdivision shall enforce any regulation that is in conflict with sections 4737.01 to 4737.043 of the Revised Code. Consistent with the power of municipal corporations to exercise their rights under Article XVIII, Section 3 of the Ohio Constitution and recognizing the need for uniform commercial practices across this state, by analogy to Am. Financial Servs. Assn et al. v. Cleveland, 112 Ohio St. 3d 170, 2006-Ohio-6043, citing Canton v. State, 95 Ohio St. 3d 149, 2002-Ohio-2005, syllabus, no municipal corporation or other political subdivision shall enact or enforce a regulation or ordinance applicable to a scrap metal dealer requiring a scrap metal dealer to individually identify and retain any scrap metal purchased or received, a practice otherwise known as “tag and hold.”

4737.045 Registration as scrap metal dealer or bulk merchandise container dealer; director’s duties

(A) To register as a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer with the director of public safety as required by division (B) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code, a person shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide the name and street address of the dealer's place of business;
(2) Provide the name of the primary owner of the business, and of the manager of the business, if the manager is not the primary owner;
(3) Provide the electronic mail address of the business;
(4) Provide confirmation that the dealer has the capabilities to electronically connect with the department of public safety for the purpose of sending and receiving information;
(5) Provide any other information required by the director in rules the director adopts pursuant to sections 4737.01 to 4737.045 of the Revised Code;
(6) Pay an initial registration fee of two hundred dollars.
(B) A person engaging in the business of a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer in this state on or before September 28, 2012, shall register with the director not later than January 1, 2013. With respect to a person who commences engaging in the business of a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer after September 28, 2012, the person shall register with the director pursuant to this section prior to commencing business as a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer.
(C) A registration issued to a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer pursuant to this section is valid for a period of one year. A dealer shall renew the registration in accordance with the rules adopted by the director and pay a renewal fee of one hundred fifty dollars to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the registry created pursuant to division (E) of this section.
(D) A scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer registered under this section shall prominently display a copy of the annual registration certificate received from the director pursuant to division (E)(2) of this section.
(E) The director shall do all of the following:
(1) Develop and implement, by January 1, 2014, and maintain as a registry a secure database for use by law enforcement agencies that is capable of all of the following:
(a) Receiving and securely storing all of the information required by division (A) of this section and the daily transaction data that scrap metal dealers and bulk merchandise dealers are required to send pursuant to division (E)(1) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code;
(b) Providing secure search capabilities to law enforcement agencies for enforcement purposes;
(c) Creating a link and retransmission capability for receipt of routine scrap theft alerts published by the institute of scrap recycling industries for transmission to dealers and law enforcement agencies in the state;
(d) Making the electronic lists prepared pursuant to division (F)(2) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code available through an electronic searchable format for individual law enforcement agencies and for dealers in the state;
(e) Providing, without charge, interlink programming enabling the transfer of information to dealers.
(2) Issue, reissue, or deny registration to dealers;
(3) Adopt rules to enforce sections 4737.01 to 4737.045 of the Revised Code, rules establishing procedures to renew a registration issued under this section, rules for the format and maintenance for the records required under division (A) of section 4737.012 of the Revised Code or division (C) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code, and rules regarding the delivery of the report required by division (E)(1) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code to the registry, which shall be used exclusively by law enforcement agencies.
(F) A scrap metal dealer or bulk merchandise container dealer may search, modify, or update only the dealer's own business data contained within the registry established in division (E) of this section.
(G) All fees received by the director pursuant to this section and division (F) of section 4737.99 of the Revised Code shall be used to develop and maintain the registry required under this section. The fees shall be deposited into the infrastructure protection fund which is hereby created in the state treasury.

Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §§  4737.01-45

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