Rhode Island Pawnbroker Licensing

Rhode Island Statutes
Title 19. Financial institutions
Chapter 19-26. Pawnbrokers

•    § 19-26-1. Businesses subject to chapter
•    § 19-26-2. City or town license - Fee - Revocation
•    § 19-26-3. License bond
•    § 19-26-4. Penalty for unlicensed business
•    § 19-26-5. Records and reports - Retention of articles pawned - Violations
•    § 19-26-6. Articles appearing to have been stolen
•    § 19-26-7. Dealing in second-hand articles
•    § 19-26-8. Ascertainment of ownership of articles pawned
•    § 19-26-9. Precious metals - Acts tending to destroy identity of articles pawned
•    § 19-26-10. Sale of unredeemed articles
•    § 19-26-11. Proceeds of sales
•    § 19-26-12. Acceptance of pawns from incompetents, wastrels, or thieves
•    § 19-26-13. Search of premises on warrant
•    § 19-26-14. Property seized on warrant
•    § 19-26-15. Bond of applicant for search warrant
•    § 19-26-16. Sunday business
•    § 19-26-17. Exercise of powers by boards and bureaus
•    § 19-26-18. Maximum charges
•    § 19-26-19. Safekeeping of pledges

§ 19-26-1. Businesses subject to chapter

Every person, partnership, or corporation, except a national bank or bank or trust company duly incorporated under the laws of this state, engaged in the business of loaning money on the security of a deposit of any personal property other than choses in action, whether or not a note or other evidence of indebtedness be given by the borrower, shall be deemed to be carrying on the business of a pawnbroker, within the meaning of this chapter, and shall be subject to all the provisions contained in this chapter.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-1

§ 19-26-2. City or town license - Fee - Revocation

The city or town council of any city or town may grant licenses to suitable persons, residents of the state, under any conditions and regulations that it may think proper, to carry on the business of pawnbrokers within their respective cities or towns for the term of one year at the place designated in the license, and every license granted shall designate the place where the business shall be carried on, and the carrying on of the business in any other place than that designated in the license, whether by the person named or by any other person, shall be deemed to be without license, and shall be punished accordingly; and every person taking the license shall pay to the city or town treasurer a sum not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200), to be fixed by the city or town council, and notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter, any license granted may be revoked and annulled by the city or town council at any time without affecting any liability under the bonds to be given, and without any claim for the money, or any part of the money, paid for the license.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-2

§ 19-26-3. License bond

Before any license is issued under the provisions of this chapter, the person applying for the license shall give bond to the city or town treasurer in the penal sum of two thousand dollars ($2,000) with at least two (2) sureties satisfactory to the town council, which sureties shall be residents of the town or city where the licensee proposes to do business, conditioned that he or she will not violate any of the provisions of this chapter, and for the payment of all costs and damages incurred by any violation of this chapter, and the other fines and penalties provided for in this section for any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall not affect the liability of the obligor upon the bond.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-3

§ 19-26-4. Penalty for unlicensed business

Every person carrying on the business of pawnbroker without a license shall be fined two hundred dollars ($200) for the first offense and five hundred dollars ($500) for the second and every subsequent offense.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-4

§ 19-26-5. Records and reports - Retention of articles pawned - Violations

(a)    Every pawnbroker shall require positive proof of identification with photograph, date of birth, and current address of every pawnor and shall require the pawnor to sign a statement on a form to be approved or provided by the attorney general stating that the pawnor is the legal owner of the property or is the agent of the owner authorized to pawn the property, and when and where or in what manner the property was obtained.
(b)    (1)    Every pawnbroker shall keep a copy of the statement form approved by the attorney general, in the English language, in which the pawnbroker shall enter the date, duration, and amount of any loan made by him or her, a full and accurate description of all articles pawned, the rate of interest, and the name, personal description, occupation, telephone number, date of birth and place of residence (with the street and number of the house) of the pawnor. The pawnbroker shall require the pawnor to sign the statement form with his or her name and address.
(2)    Upon the receipt of the property the pawnbroker shall deliver to the pawnor a memorandum in writing, signed by him or her, numbered with a number corresponding to the number of the statement form, and containing the substance of the statement form.
(3)    Whenever required, the pawnbroker shall submit copies of the statement forms to the inspection of the attorney general, mayor, chief of police, or the deputy chief of police, or any member of the detective police of any city, or to the chief of police or the town sergeant of any town, and shall also make out and deliver to the chief of police of the city, or to the chief of police or the town sergeant of the town where the license has been granted, every day before twelve o'clock noon (12:00 p.m.), a legible and correct copy of all the statement forms made during the twenty-four (24) hours preceding the hour of ten o'clock (10:00) a.m. of the day upon which the copy is made. The pawnbroker shall deliver or mail weekly to the attorney general copies of all statement forms from the preceding seven (7) day period; and shall retain for inspection of the attorney general, mayor, chief of police, deputy chief of police, or any member of the detective police of any city, or of the chief of police or town sergeant of any town, all articles received in pawn, for a period of at least forty-eight (48) hours from the time the articles were received.
(4)    Any pawnbroker who knowingly writes the wrong name or address of a person offering any article for pawn, or who knowingly permits the signing of the wrong name or address, shall be fined one hundred dollars ($100) for the first offense. Upon a second offense the pawnbroker's license shall be revoked, and he or she shall not be permitted to conduct the business of pawnbroker in this state for one year. For violating any other provisions of this section a pawnbroker shall be fined one hundred dollars ($100).
(5)    Any person offering any article for pawn who signs a wrong name or address shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment for not more than six (6) months.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-5

§ 19-26-6. Articles appearing to have been stolen

If it appears to any of the officers specified in § 19-26-5 that any article or articles which have been pawned have been stolen, the officer may give notice in writing to the pawnbroker to hold the article or articles, and the pawnbroker shall thereafter hold the article or articles for sixty (60) days, unless the notice is recalled in writing by the officer giving it. The article or articles shall be subject to inspection of the officer and any person with the officer at all reasonable times, and the article or articles shall be produced on notice or summons before any court or grand jury if the question of the larceny of the article or articles is under investigation. The pawnbroker shall not be liable in damages or otherwise on account of the detention. Any person who willfully hinders, obstructs, or prevents the officer from inspecting the article or articles, or violates any provision of this section, shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), or be imprisoned not exceeding six (6) months.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-6

§ 19-26-7. Dealing in second-hand articles

No pawnbroker licensed as provided in § 19-26-2 shall purchase any second-hand articles, or sell, dispose of, or keep for sale, any second-hand articles, unless they have been pawned to him or her and are sold under the provisions of § 19-26-10. Any article sold to the pawnbroker upon the understanding that the article is to be purchased from the pawnbroker by the seller of the article, or by any person acting for the seller, shall be deemed to have been pawned within the meaning of this chapter.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-7

§ 19-26-8. Ascertainment of ownership of articles pawned

No pawnbroker shall knowingly take from any apprentice, servant, or employee any article or thing offered by the apprentice, servant, or employee in pledge without first ascertaining that the article or thing is the property of the person so offering it for sale. For every violation of this section the pawnbroker shall be fined not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100).

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-8

§ 19-26-9. Precious metals - Acts tending to destroy identity of articles pawned

No pawnbroker shall buy or receive in pawn, gold, silver, or platinum scraps, gold or silver plated scraps, gold or silver solder, gold, silver, or platinum, or any of the same, in combination with any other or others of the same, melted into a button, bar, or any other shape, or any article of gold, silver, platinum, gold plate or silver plate in course of manufacture; nor shall he or she deface, scratch, obliterate, melt, separate, or break into parts any finished or unfinished article received by him or her in pawn, or otherwise in any manner do, cause, or suffer to be done by others, anything which shall destroy or tend to destroy the identity of the article, or render the identification more difficult; and for every violation of any provision of this section the pawnbroker shall be fined not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000) or be imprisoned not exceeding one year, and his or her license shall become void.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-9

§ 19-26-10. Sale of unredeemed articles

(a)    No pawnbroker shall sell or dispose of any property pawned with him or her within three (3) months after the maturity of the loan on the property if not of a perishable nature; and, if perishable, for at least one month after that date. For the purposes of this section, "perishable" means any item(s) or good(s) subject to rapid decay and/or the value of which will be diminished if not put to the intended use within a short time.
(b)    (1)    All such sales shall be made in this state.
(2)    All sales of articles received in pawn by any pawnbroker shall be at public auction to the highest bidder, except that any article less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) in value may be sold at private sale, and a record of the articles sold and the sale prices shall be made, at the time of the sale, in the book required to be kept by the pawnbroker by § 19-26-5.
(3)    Notice of the sale at public auction shall be published at least six (6) days before the sale in one of the public newspapers, published in English, in the city or town where the business is carried on, or if no newspaper is published in the city or town, then in some newspaper published in the county in which the city or town is located.
(4)    The notice shall specify the time and place at which the sale is to take place and by whom it is to be conducted, and shall contain the same number and description of the articles or goods to be sold as is contained in the memorandum delivered to the pawnor as required by § 19-26-5.
(c)    The borrower, or any person entitled to the property pledged, may, at any time prior to the sale, pay or tender to the pawnbroker the amount loaned and the interest on the loan, together with the proportionate cost of advertising the sale, if any, and the payment or tender shall reinvest the pawnor or the person entitled to the property pledged with the title and right of possession to the property pawned free of the pledge.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-10

§ 19-26-11. Proceeds of sales

The surplus money, if any, rising from the sale, after deducting the amount of the loan, the interest then due on the loan, and the proportionate expense of advertising, if any, and of selling, if at public auction, shall be paid over by the pawnbroker to the person who would be entitled to redeem the pledge or pawn in case no sale had taken place. If there is surplus money, notice of the sale and of any balance due the pawnor or the person entitled shall be sent by the pawnbroker by registered or certified mail addressed to the pawnor at the place of residence specified in the record book. If any other person claims to be entitled to the money, and his or her place of residence is known to the pawnbroker, the pawnbroker shall also send that person notice, addressed to that person at his or her residence, by registered or certified mail. If the notice or notices are sent, and neither the pawnor nor the other person claims the balances within one year from the time of sending the notice or notices, he or she shall be barred from recovering the money from the pawnbroker. For every violation of this section or § 19-26-10, the pawnbroker shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), and the pawnbroker's license shall become void.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-11

§ 19-26-12. Acceptance of pawns from incompetents, wastrels, or thieves

(a)    No pawnbroker shall receive in pledge or mortgage or by way of sale, either absolutely or with an agreement to sell back, any goods, note, bill, check, assignment or order for money or other property, or any article, thing, or property of any description, from any person, after receiving from any one of the officers mentioned in § 19-26-5, or the parent or guardian of any minor or person of unsound mind, written notice that the person is a minor or is of unsound mind; or neglects all lawful business; or habitually frequents houses of ill fame, gaming houses, or tippling houses; or by drinking, gaming, idleness, or debauchery of any kind squanders his or her earnings or wastes his or her estate; or is likely to bring self or family to want or to render self or family a public charge; or is a known thief or suspected of thievery.
(b)    No pawnbroker shall knowingly receive any pawn from any person under eighteen (18) years of age, or from any person in a visible state of intoxication from liquors, drugs, or narcotics.
(c)    Any pawnbroker violating any provision of this section shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500), and the pawnbroker's license shall become void.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-12

§ 19-26-13. Search of premises on warrant

Whenever complaint shall be made by any person, on oath to a judge, that any property belonging to that person has been lodged or pledged without his or her consent with any pawnbroker and that the complainant believes the property to be in some house or place within the county where the complaint is made, the judge shall, if satisfied of the reasonableness of that belief, issue a warrant directed to the division of sheriffs, or to either of the town sergeants or constables in the county, commanding them to search for the property alleged to have been so lodged or pledged and to seize and bring the property before the division of the district court. The warrant shall be issued and served as search warrants are now by law required to be issued and served.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-13

§ 19-26-14. Property seized on warrant

The court before which any property seized under the provisions of § 19-26-13 shall be brought shall cause the property to be delivered to the person on whose application the warrant was issued, on the execution of a bond as directed in § 19-26-15; and if the bond is not executed within twenty-four (24) hours, exclusive of Sunday, the court shall cause the property to be returned to the person from whose possession it was taken.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-14

§ 19-26-15. Bond of applicant for search warrant

The bond required to be given under § 19-26-14 shall be in double the value of the property claimed, with any surety as the court shall approve, and shall be given to the person from whose possession the property was taken, with condition that the obligor claiming the property will pay all costs and damages that may be recovered by the obligee in any suit brought within ten (10) days from the date thereof.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-15

§ 19-26-16. Sunday business

No license granted under the provisions of this chapter shall authorize any business to be transacted by pawnbrokers on the first day of the week.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-16

§ 19-26-17. Exercise of powers by boards and bureaus

Whenever by law the powers, conferred in this chapter upon city or town councils, have been conferred upon boards or bureaus of police commissioners in any city or town, those powers shall continue to be exercised by the boards or bureaus of police commissioners.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-17

§ 19-26-18. Maximum charges

Pawnbrokers are prohibited from charging, taking, or receiving, directly or indirectly, for the use of money lent on personal property, any more than the following rates of interest: for the use of money exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) in amount for a period not exceeding three (3) months, five percent (5%) per month; for a period of time exceeding three (3) months, two and one-half percent (2.5%) per month; for the use of money exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) in amount for any period of time, two and one-half percent (2.5%) per month; provided, that when the interest allowed by this section would amount to less than fifty cents (50¢), a minimum charge of fifty cents (50¢) per month shall be allowed under the provisions of this chapter; and, provided, further, that no charge for the keeping or storage of any article taken in pawn or pledge by any pawnbroker, under the provisions of this chapter, other than is provided in this section shall be permitted. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) and his or her license shall become void.

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-18

§ 19-26-19. Safekeeping of pledges

Every pawnbroker, licensed and operating under the provisions of this chapter, shall provide a place for the safekeeping of the pledges received by him or her, and this provision shall not be construed to be in reduction of any obligation which rests upon the pawnbroker to properly care for the articles pledged. For every violation of this section the pawnbroker shall be fined one hundred dollars ($100).

Cite as R.I. Gen. Laws § 19-26-19