Pawnbrokers in Arizona are regulated by local, state and federal agencies.
Fed regulations include the Military Lending Act of 2015, the Internal Revenue Service Form 8300, the FTC Consumer Information Disposal Rule, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Service Members Civil Relief Act of 2003, the FTC Red Flag Rule, the Bank Secrecy Act, the Specially-Designated-Nationals List, the U.S. Patriot Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act, the FTC Privacy Rule, the FTC Safeguards Rule and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The Military Lending Act
A federal law was passed on July 21st, 2015 and was expanded on October 3, 2016 to limit the amount of interest and all other charges to 36% (thirty-six percent) for active military personnel, active-duty Guard or Reserve forces, spouses and their dependents. Pawn-shop owners and employees are required to access the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) and enter customers' names, dates of birth, and SSN's to receive a “verified certificate” of their military status, which must retained in records.
Arizona Regulations
In Arizona, a loan must be paid off in 3 months but a longer term is allowed with the consent of both parties in writing.
A pawner must be 18 or older.
Items with manufacturers' serial numbers removed cannot be pawned.
The pawner must present identification that satisfies the requirements of AZ law section 44-1625.
The pawn shop must keep pawned items at the place of business or at a location approved by local law enforcement.
Records of all reportable transactions must be kept at the place of business for at least 2 years after the date of the transactions, including receipts, pawn tickets and required alcohol, tobacco and firearms logs.
Pawn shops are subject to inspection by local law enforcement.
The pawn shop can resell or keep pawned item(s) one day after the load period.
Unlike many states AZ pawnbrokers are not required to provide notice of delinquencies or intent to sell or keep property.
Shops cannot force a pawner to repay the loan prior to the due date.
Each state controls the maximum amount of interest that can be charge. The maximum rate for Arizona is 8% for the first 2 months and 6% for each month thereafter.
These fees may be imposed in addition to loan interest:
- $5.00 for each firearm pawned
- $5.00 per day for pawned-vehicle storage
- $5.00 storage per month for each item pawned
- $5.00 set-up fee
- $7.50 for a lost pawn ticket
- Any taxes or fees charged by the government on pawn transactions
Pawnbroker Pawn Shop Software has provisions for storing interest and fee settings in the program and applying them automatically and correctly.
Pawn Tickets in Arizona
Pawn tickets may be printed on plain paper or on preprinted pawn forms.
Plain paper pawn tickets require any ink printer and a software program that is configured for printing on 8.5 x 11 paper stock.
A potential downside to plain-paper tickets is that a sample will probably need to be submitted to the state with the pawn-license application.
Preprinted pawn forms are available from Burrell Printing, http://www.burrellprinting.com/products/search
The disadvantages of preprinted pawn forms are the added expense and the waste that occurs when changes are required.
Pawn shops dealing in autos, gold, second-hand reselling, check cashing and payday loans may need a program (like Pawnbroker Pawn Shop Software) that can print such forms.
Websites and References
State Bar of Arizona azbar.org
Maricopa County Bar
maricopabar.org
602-257-4434
Pima County Bar
pimacountybar.org
520-623-4625
Arizona Office of the Attorney General
azag.gov/consumer/home
consumerinfo@azag.gov
602) 542-5763
azag.gov/contact-us
This page provides information on how to start a pawn business in AZ. The State of Arizona may have more complete and current information. No warranties are made as to the accuracy of the information herein. Please submit suggestions by sending an email. Send Email