PURCHASE OF JEWELRY AND PRECIOUS METAL FOR RESALE.

Austin City Code tit. 4, ch. 4-6, art. 2

in effect

Austin City Code § 4-6-11 DEFINITIONS.

§ 4-6-11 - DEFINITIONS. In this article: (1) DEALER means a person who: (a) who purchases precious metal or antique, used, or scrap jewelry for resale in its original form or as remounted, melted, reformed, remolded, or recast, or as scrap or in bulk; or (b) makes loans for which precious metal or antique, used, or scrap jewelry is received and held as security. (2) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER means a driver's license number, military identification number, identification certificate number, or other number commonly used to identify an individual including the number's source, except a Social Security number. (3) JEWELRY includes a watch, an ornament composed in whole or in part of a precious metal, and an item that contains precious or semiprecious stones. (4) LOGBOOK means a book containing sequentially-numbered, duplicate pages, with removable original entry pages. (5) PRECIOUS METAL means a form of gold, silver, or platinum, pure or alloyed, including a coin, silverware, or a silverplated item. Source: 1992 Code Section 8-12-3(A); Ord. 031023-12; Ord. 031211-11.

Austin City Code § 4-6-12 REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

§ 4-6-12 - REGISTRATION REQUIRED. A dealer must register with the police chief on a form provided by the police chief, before the dealer operates a business under this article. Source: 1992 Code Section 8-12-3(B); Ord. 031023-12; Ord. 031211-11.

Austin City Code § 4-6-13 IDENTIFICATION OF MERCHANDISE REQUIRED.

§ 4-6-13 - IDENTIFICATION OF MERCHANDISE REQUIRED. A dealer shall label each item of jewelry or precious metal acquired by the dealer with the appropriate transaction number from the logbook. Source: 1992 Code Section 8-12-3(F); Ord. 031211-11.

Austin City Code § 4-6-14 LOGBOOK REQUIREMENTS.

§ 4-6-14 - LOGBOOK REQUIREMENTS. (A) A dealer shall keep a logbook containing a legible handwritten record in ink of each acquisition or purchase of jewelry or precious metal, including: (1) a description of the jewelry or precious metal, including any distinctive shape or mounting, and any name, address, initial, marking, or inscription on the item; (2) except as provided in Subsections (B) and (C), the name, sex, race, identification number, date of birth and residential address of the person from whom the item is obtained; (3) the amount of consideration paid by the dealer for the item; and (4) the signatures of the transferor, dealer, and purchaser or transferee of each item, including the date and time the signature was made. (B) If the source of the identification number shows the transferor's sex, race, or date of birth, a dealer is not required to record this information in the logbook. (C) If the source of the identification number is not a photograph identification of the transferor, the dealer shall obtain not less than two different identification numbers from the transferor. (D) If an item of jewelry or precious metal is sold or transferred, the dealer shall immediately update the appropriate logbook entry to include: (1) the name and address of the purchaser or transferee; and (2) the date of the sale or transfer. (E) The police chief shall provide a dealer with the logbook required under this article, at no cost to the dealer, when the dealer registers under Section 4-6-12 (Registration Required). (F) A dealer commits an offense if the dealer fails to use a logbook provided by the police chief. Source: 1992 Code Sections 8-12-3(C) and (H); Ord. 031023-12; Ord. 031211-11.

Austin City Code § 4-6-15 EXCEPTIONS TO LOGBOOK REQUIREMENTS.

§ 4-6-15 - EXCEPTIONS TO LOGBOOK REQUIREMENTS. Section 4-6-14 (Logbook Requirements) does not apply: (1) to a purchase by a dealer directly from a manufacturer or wholesaler of jewelry or precious metal that sells jewelry or precious metal to dealers for inventory; or (2) except as provided in Section 4-6-16 (Inspection and Criminal Investigation), to transactions between registered dealers. Source: 1992 Code Section 8-12-3(J); Ord. 031023-12; Ord. 031211-11.

Austin City Code § 4-6-16 INSPECTION AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.

§ 4-6-16 - INSPECTION AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION. (A) A dealer shall make each item of jewelry or precious metal in the dealer's possession available for inspection by a City police officer conducting a criminal investigation involving an item acquired by the dealer. (B) Except as provided in Subsection (C) and Section 4-6-17 (Weekly Report), a dealer shall keep each unaltered duplicate logbook at the dealer's business location and shall make a logbook available during business hours and at other reasonable times for inspection by a City police officer conducting a criminal investigation. (C) On demand by a City police officer conducting a criminal investigation involving an item acquired by the dealer, the dealer shall remove the original entry relating to an item from the logbook and deliver the record to the officer. (D) A dealer shall provide the information required by Section 4-6-14(D) (Logbook Requirements) to the police chief upon demand, if the police chief determines the information is necessary to a criminal investigation. Source: 1992 Code Sections 8-12-3(D), (E), (G), and (H); Ord. 031023-12; Ord. 031211-11.

Austin City Code § 4-6-17 WEEKLY REPORT.

§ 4-6-17 - WEEKLY REPORT. No later than noon every Friday, a dealer shall remove each original logbook entry not previously delivered to a police officer, and mail or hand-deliver the entries to the police chief. Source: 1992 Code Section 8-12-3(E); Ord. 031211-11.

Austin City Code § 4-6-18 TRANSACTION WITH MINOR PROHIBITED.

§ 4-6-18 - TRANSACTION WITH MINOR PROHIBITED. A dealer commits an offense if the dealer purchases or acquires an item of jewelry or precious metal from a person less than 18 years old. Source: 1992 Code Section 8-12-3(I); Ord. 031023-12; Ord. 031211-11.

Austin City Code § 4-6-19 OPEN RECORDS EXCEPTION.

§ 4-6-19 - OPEN RECORDS EXCEPTION. Information provided to the police chief under Section 4-6-16 (Inspection and Criminal Investigation) is exempt from disclosure under Chapter 552 (Public Information Act) of the Texas Government Code, in accordance with Section 552.108 (Exception: Certain Law Enforcement and Prosecutorial Information). Source: 1992 Code Section 8-12-3(K); Ord. 031023-12; Ord. 031211-11.

Source: City of Austin, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/austin/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT4BUREPERE_CH4-6PAJESEGODE_ART2PUJEPRMEREFetched: 10/27/2026