Pawnbroking ($10,000) Bond - Statewide in Florida

Brief Summary

If your shop cannot document $50,000 in net worth, the $10,000 bond is how you qualify for a Florida pawnbroker license. It keeps your cash in the business instead of tied up in a certificate of deposit, and each pawnshop license gets its own bond, so adding a location is a quick filing rather than a new capital outlay.

Under Fla. Stat. 539.001(4)(a), a pawnbroker license applicant must either show a net worth of at least $50,000 or file a $10,000 surety bond for each license with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. A certificate of deposit or irrevocable letter of credit in a Florida banking institution may be used instead. Because a separate license is required for each pawnshop, each location carries its own $10,000 bond.

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How to Apply for a Pawnbroking ($10,000) Bond:

• Decide whether you will qualify on $50,000 net worth or on the $10,000 bond for each pawnshop license.
• Complete FDACS-10111, the Pawnbroking Registration Application, which includes the bond and letter of credit forms.
• Provide the applicant's legal name and the address of each pawnshop to be licensed.
• Complete the bond application and receive the executed $10,000 bond for each license.
• Submit fingerprints, the $300 license fee for each license and the fingerprint analysis cost.
• Keep the bond in force and renew each license annually.

Detailed Information About the Florida Pawnbroking ($10,000) Bond:

Net worth or bond, and the bond is per shop

The Florida Pawnbroking Act gives applicants two ways to meet the financial requirement. One is a net worth of at least $50,000. The other is a $10,000 bond from a surety company qualified to do business in Florida, filed with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for each license. Section 539.001(3)(a) requires a separate license for each pawnshop, so an operator with four stores who goes the bond route files four bonds.

A certificate of deposit or an irrevocable letter of credit in a Florida banking institution in the amount of the bond can stand in for the surety bond.

Who the bond protects

The bond runs in favor of the agency for the use and benefit of a consumer injured by the pawnbroker's fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract, financial failure or violation of section 539.001. The aggregate amount awarded cannot exceed the amount of the bond. Claims are filed on form FDACS-10986, the Pawnshop Claim Affidavit, under Rule 5J-13.003.

Proving net worth instead

Rule 5J-13.003 lists what an applicant relying on net worth must file: a current financial statement prepared by a Florida certified public accountant, the Pawnbroking Net Worth Affidavit in FDACS-10111 with supporting documentation, or for a corporation, its most recently filed federal tax return.

Fees and term

Each license costs $300 initially and $300 each year after, and is valid for one year. The initial application also needs fingerprints and the actual cost of fingerprint analysis. Rule 5J-13.002 allows fee waivers for qualifying veterans, active duty service members and their spouses using form FDACS-10991.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Florida Pawnbroking ($10,000) Bond:

• Bond amount of $10,000 for each license under Fla. Stat. 539.001(4)(a).
• Surety company qualified to do business in Florida.
• Bond in favor of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the benefit of injured consumers.
• Separate license, and so a separate bond, for each pawnshop.
• Applicant must be of good moral character.
• A certificate of deposit or irrevocable letter of credit in a Florida banking institution may replace the surety bond.

Florida Pawnbroking ($10,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Florida Pawnbroking ($10,000) Bond: