Pawnbroker Regulations in Kentucky

In Kentucky, regulations governing pawnbrokers are found under § 226.010 et. seq.  The sections of the law cover the following:   

Kentucky Revised Statutes
Title XIX. Public Safety and Morals
Chapter 226. Pawnbrokers

226.010 Pawnbroker defined
226.020 Bond of pawnbroker
226.030 Pawnbroker not to receive article from minor or during night
226.040 Pawnbroker to keep register of loans and purchases; state officers may inspect
226.050 Pawnbroker to give ticket and receipt for articles; sale after sixty days; notice before sale
226.060 Special provisions for city, and county containing city of first class or consolidated local government
226.070 Daily reports in cities and unincorporated areas
226.080 Maximum interest; service charges
226.090 Receipts for payments
226.100 Powers of county police in enforcing chapter
226.990 Penalties

226.010 Pawnbroker defined

Any person who loans money on deposit of personal property, or who deals in the purchase of personal property on condition of selling the property back again at a stipulated price, or who makes a public display at his place of business of the sign generally used by pawnbrokers to denote their business, or who publicly exhibits a sign advertising money to loan on personal property or deposit is a pawnbroker.

226.020 Bond of pawnbroker

Every person to whom a city or county license is granted to carry on the business of a pawnbroker shall annually enter into bond to the city or county, with good and sufficient surety, to be approved by the city legislative body or the county fiscal court, in the penal sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000). The bond shall be conditioned that he will observe the provisions of KRS 226.030 to 226.050, and the ordinances and laws in force in the city or county not inconsistent with KRS 226.030 to 226.050.

226.030 Pawnbroker not to receive article from minor or during night

No pawnbroker shall receive, by way of pledge or pawn, any article whatever from a minor at any time, nor from any person between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.

226.040 Pawnbroker to keep register of loans and purchases; state officers may inspect

Every pawnbroker shall keep a register of all loans and purchases of all articles effected or made by him. The register shall show the dates of all loans or purchases, and the names of all persons who have left any property on deposit as collateral security, or as a delivery or sale. Opposite the names and dates shall be written in plain hand a full description of all property purchased or received on deposit as collateral security, the time when the loan falls due, the amount of purchase money, the amount loaned and the interest charged. The register shall at all times be open to the inspection of any officer of this state when in the discharge of his official duty.

226.050 Pawnbroker to give ticket and receipt for articles; sale after sixty days; notice before sale

 (1) Every pawnbroker shall give a plain written or printed ticket for the loan to the person negotiating or selling, and a plain written or printed receipt of the articles that have been purchased, or upon which money is loaned, having on each a copy of the entries required by KRS 226.040 to be kept in his register. He shall not make any charge for the ticket or receipt.
(2) A pawnbroker may sell any article pawned after the expiration of sixty (60) days from the maturity of the loan, provided that, not less than ten (10) days before making the sale, the pawnbroker shall have given notice to the person by whom the article was pawned, by mail addressed to the post office address of such person as shown on the pawnbroker's register, notifying such person that, unless he redeems the article within ten (10) days from the date of mailing said notice, the article will be sold.

226.060 Special provisions for city, and county containing city of first class or consolidated local government

The chief of police of a city of the first class or the chief of police of a county containing a city of the first class, or the chief of police of a consolidated local government, and persons acting by his orders may examine the books of any pawnbroker or his clerk, if they deem it necessary when in search of stolen property. Any person who has in his possession a pawnbroker's ticket issued by a pawnbroker in a city of the first class or in a county containing a city of the first class or a consolidated local government shall, when accompanied by a policeman or by an order from the chief or captain of police, be permitted to examine property purporting to be pawned by that ticket. No property shall be removed from the possession of any pawnbroker without the process of law required by the existing laws of the state, or the laws and ordinances of the local government regulating pawnbrokers.

226.070 Daily reports in cities and unincorporated areas

 (1) Every pawnbroker in a city or in the unincorporated area of any county shall by 11 a.m. each day, make available to the chief of police of the city, the chief law enforcement officer of the county, or to the Department of Kentucky State Police, a true and correct written report of all goods received by him or her, whether by pawn or purchase, during the twenty-four (24) hours preceding each report. The report shall describe the goods as accurately as practicable.
(2) The chief of police of the city, the chief law enforcement officer of the county, or the Department of Kentucky State Police shall furnish blanks for the reports required by subsection (1) of this section.

226.080 Maximum interest; service charges

Any pawnbroker, as defined in KRS 226.010, may, in loaning money on deposit of personal property, charge, contract for or receive interest at a rate not exceeding two percent (2%) per month on the unpaid principal balance of the loan, and may charge, contract for and receive a reasonable fee, not to exceed one-fifth (1/5) of the value of the loan per month, for investigating the title, storing and insuring the property, closing the loan, making daily reports to local law enforcement officers and for other expenses, losses and incidental costs associated with servicing such loans. It is further provided that such fee when made and collected shall not be deemed interest for any purpose of law. No pawnbroker shall directly or indirectly charge, receive or contract for any interest or consideration greater than that allowed by this section.

Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 226.080 

226.090 Receipts for payments

Every pawnbroker, upon receiving any payment of money from a borrower, shall give to such person a plain and complete receipt for such payment, specifying separately the amount applied to principal and the amount applied to interest. In a case where the pawnbroker has purchased personal property under an agreement to sell it back at a stipulated price, the pawnbroker shall, on receiving any payment of money from the person from whom the property was purchased, give such person a receipt stating the original purchase price, the stipulated resale price, and the amount received.

226.100 Powers of county police in enforcing chapter

Enforcement of the provisions of this chapter shall be within the jurisdiction of the fiscal court of any county except that county police shall not exercise authority within the corporate limits of a city of ten thousand or more population. County police for the purpose of locating stolen goods, may carry out the provisions of KRS 226.060 in a city of any size or in the county area of their jurisdiction.

226.990 Penalties

(1) Any pawnbroker who violates any of the provisions of KRS 226.020 to 226.050 shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), and his license may be forfeited to the use of the city or county in which the prosecution takes place.
(2) Any pawnbroker or pawnbroker's clerk who violates any of the provisions of KRS 226.060 shall be fined not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500).
(3) Any pawnbroker who violates any of the provisions of KRS 226.070 shall be fined not less than twenty dollars ($20) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100).
(4) Any pawnbroker who violates any of the provisions of KRS 226.080 or 226.090 shall be subject to the penalties provided in subsection (1) of this section.

Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 226.010 - 226.990