GENERALLY

Fort Worth City Code ch. 20, art. VII, div. 1

in effect

Fort Worth City Code § 20-251 DEFINITIONS.

§ 20-251 DEFINITIONS. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning. BUSINESS MACHINES. Typewriters, adding machines, check-writing devices, cash registers, calculators, addressing machines, letter sorting or folding devices, and recording, copying and accounting equipment. CRAFTED PRECIOUS METALS. Jewelry, silverware, art objects or any other thing or object made, in whole or in part, from gold, silver, platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium, osmium, ruthenium or their alloys, excluding coins, commemorative medallions or bullion or bars of such metals. LICENSEE. A person in whose name a license has been issued, or a person listed as an applicant on the application for a license. POWER TOOLS. Tools powered by electrical current or by liquid or gaseous fuels, including, but not limited to, welding equipment and pneumatic equipment. SECONDHAND DEALER. (1) Any person who, in the usual and ordinary course of business, engages in the purchase, sale, barter or trade of used or secondhand goods, wares or merchandise. (2) SECONDHAND DEALER shall include: a. Any business conducted by an established dealer in a permanent location within the city; or b. Any temporary or transient business where the dealer conducts business within the city for a period of more than 30 consecutive days. USED OR SECONDHAND GOODS, WARES OR MERCHANDISE. (1) Any item of personal property which is not purchased or sold by a dealer as new or which is acquired by a dealer after having been used or purchased by another. (2) USED OR SECONDHAND GOODS, WARES OR MERCHANDISE shall include, but not be limited to, the following: a. Wearing apparel or clothing of any kind; b. Crafted precious metals, jewelry, precious gems and watches; c. Furniture, home and kitchen appliances, luggage, musical instruments, clocks and photography equipment; d. Weapons and firearms; e. Automobile parts and accessories; f. Business machines; g. Tools, power tools and toolboxes; h. Electronic equipment such as televisions, radios and stereo equipment and accessories; and i. Tobacco products. (3) This term shall not be construed to include goods, wares or merchandise which are purchased or sold as new by the original manufacturer, wholesale distributor or retail businesses. (1964 Code, § 22-1) (Ord. 9175, § 3, passed 8-21-1984) Cross-reference: Definitions and rules of construction generally, see § 1-2

Fort Worth City Code § 20-252 REQUIRED RECORDS AND REPORTS.

§ 20-252 REQUIRED RECORDS AND REPORTS. (a) Any secondhand dealer doing business in the city, or any employee or agent of such dealer, who purchases or trades for used or secondhand goods, wares or merchandise in the city for the purpose of resale to the public shall, at the time of purchase, record in a legible manner in duplicate on a sequentially numbered report form, approximately five inches by eight inches in dimension, the following information: (1) An accurate and complete description of the article purchased; (2) Date and time of purchase; (3) The amount of money paid or other consideration exchanged for the property purchased; (4) The name, age, sex, race and place of residence of the person selling the article; (5) The license number of the automobile in which the article was delivered to the secondhand dealer, and the state that issued the license, as reported by the seller; (6) The number of the seller’s drivers license, military identification card, state-issued identification card, or federally issued identification card, except a social security card; and (7) The signatures of the seller and the secondhand dealer. (b) Neither the secondhand dealer nor any employee or agent of such dealer shall purchase or trade for any used or secondhand property unless the seller of such property provides one of the forms of identification required in subsection (a)(6) above. (c) Any secondhand dealer who trades for or purchases used or secondhand goods, wares or merchandise from another licensed secondhand dealer shall be required to record upon the report form only the city license of the secondhand dealer from whom the used or secondhand articles were received, in lieu of the information required by subsection (a) above. (d) The report forms described above shall be furnished by the city to secondhand dealers free of charge. Any secondhand dealer may, at his or her own expense, print and use his or her own report forms, provided such forms conform in dimension and in the information required to the forms furnished by the city. (e) One copy of the completed report shall be mailed to the police department within 48 hours from the time of purchase or trade. The second copy shall be retained by the secondhand dealer for a period of two years. The reports required above shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by the chief of police or any police officer of the city. (f) Neither the secondhand dealer nor any employee or agent of such dealer shall knowingly record false information of a material fact on a report required by this section. (1964 Code, § 22-8) (Ord. 9175, § 3, passed 8-21-1984)

Fort Worth City Code § 20-253 IDENTIFICATION OF ARTICLES PURCHASED.

§ 20-253 IDENTIFICATION OF ARTICLES PURCHASED. Each article purchased by a secondhand dealer shall be kept intact and separate from property purchased from other sellers. Each article shall have attached on the container or, if no container, on the article itself a tag on which is legibly printed the corresponding number of the report required in § 20-252. (1964 Code, § 22-9) (Ord. 9175, § 3, passed 8-21-1984)

Fort Worth City Code § 20-254 HOLDING PERIOD PRIOR TO RESALE.

§ 20-254 HOLDING PERIOD PRIOR TO RESALE. All secondhand articles purchased by secondhand dealers shall be retained by them in their original shape, form and condition for a period of 14 consecutive days after such purchase during which period no part of such purchase shall be sold or removed from the place of business of such dealer. Secondhand articles may be held for less than 14 days upon the written authorization of the police department. The aforementioned holding period is not required for secondhand articles purchased from other licensed secondhand dealers within the city. (1964 Code, § 22-10) (Ord. 9175, § 3, passed 8-21-1984)

Fort Worth City Code § 20-255 REMOVAL, OBLITERATION OF MANUFACTURER’S BRAND NAME OR SERIAL NUMBER.

§ 20-255 REMOVAL, OBLITERATION OF MANUFACTURER’S BRAND NAME OR SERIAL NUMBER. No secondhand dealer shall remove, alter or obliterate the manufacturer’s brand name, serial number or other identifying numbers or marks from any secondhand article purchased. (1964 Code, § 22-11) (Ord. 9175, § 3, passed 8-21-1984)

Fort Worth City Code § 20-256 INSPECTION OF PURCHASED ITEMS.

§ 20-256 INSPECTION OF PURCHASED ITEMS. Each article purchased by any secondhand dealer shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by the chief of police or any police officer of the city. (1964 Code, § 22-12) (Ord. 9175, § 3, passed 8-21-1984)

Fort Worth City Code § 20-257 PURCHASES FROM MINORS.

§ 20-257 PURCHASES FROM MINORS. No secondhand dealer shall purchase for any purpose any used or secondhand article from any person under the age of 18 years or which may be owned or claimed by or in the possession or control of such person unless the parent or guardian of such person shall state in writing that such transaction took place with such parent’s or guardian’s full knowledge and consent. The written statement shall be signed by a parent or guardian and have thereon the address and telephone number, if any, of such parent or guardian. (1964 Code, § 22-13) (Ord. 9175, § 3, passed 8-21-1984)

Fort Worth City Code § 20-258 EXEMPTIONS.

§ 20-258 EXEMPTIONS. This article shall not apply to: (a) Charitable, philanthropic, religious, fraternal, civic, patriotic, social or school-sponsored organizations or associations or to any non-profit corporations or associations; (b) Any person dealing solely in the purchase, sale or trade of used or secondhand motor vehicles; (c) The occasional sale to the public of used or secondhand goods and wares that have been used primarily for personal, family or household purposes by the owner, if the seller, at the time of sale, is not engaged in the business for profit of selling goods of that or of a similar nature, which shall include garage sales conducted at a private residence and neighborhood garage sales; (d) Public and private auctions; (e) Sales made by any public officer in his or her official capacity as a trustee in bankruptcy, executor, administrator, receiver or public official acting under judicial process or authority, or sales on the execution of, or by virtue of, any process issued by a court; (f) Sales and purchases made by the United States, the state or the city or any political subdivision, department or agency thereof; (g) Used or secondhand articles which are deposited with or otherwise actually delivered into the possession of a pawn broker in the course of his or her business in connection with a pawn transaction under the provisions of the Texas Pawnshop Act, Tex. Revised Civil Statutes Article 5069-51.02; (h) Any person dealing in secondhand or used merchandise whose dealing is limited to the acquiring of such merchandise through an exchange for new merchandise, and to the selling of such by sale only incidental to any part of the main business of dealing in new goods or merchandise; (i) Itinerant vendors as defined by § 20-141 of this code; provided, however, any itinerant vendor who purchases, barters or trades for any used or secondhand good, wares or merchandise while doing business in the city shall comply with the reporting requirements in § 20-252 of this article; and (j) Recyclers and recycling facilities as defined in Chapter 20, Article XI, § 20-384 of the city code. (1964 Code, § 22-14) (Ord. 9175, § 3, passed 8-21-1984)

Fort Worth City Code § 20-259 through 20-270 RESERVED.

Source: City of Fort Worth, Code of Ordinances, City Charter and Zoning Ordinance (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/ftworth/latest/ftworth_tx/0-0-0-22312Fetched: 10/26/2026