Retail & Second-Hand · 6 min read · Last updated
This licence is defined by what happens to the goods after you buy them. A precious metals and jewellery dealer buys jewellery or precious metals for the purpose of smelting them, which means the item is bought to be destroyed and recovered as metal rather than resold as it is. The definition reaches pop-up and short-term buyers too, so a weekend gold-buying event needs the same licence as a permanent storefront.
The City of Hamilton lists this under its “Establishments” category: “Precious Metals and Jewellery Dealers means business purchasing jewellery or precious metals for the purpose of smelting the jewellery or precious metals; including operating for a short period or temporary basis.”
Who needs this licence?
The defining feature is purpose. This licence applies to a business purchasing jewellery or precious metals for the purpose of smelting them. The goods are bought as material, not as merchandise.
That is what separates this licence from its neighbours. A second hand shop sells used goods on, including jewellery, in whatever condition it comes in. A pawnbroker lends money against goods pledged as security and expects the customer may come back for them. A precious metals and jewellery dealer buys to melt down.
The definition expressly includes businesses operating for a short period or on a temporary basis. Hotel-ballroom gold buying events, weekend pop-ups and travelling buyers are inside this licence, not outside it. If you buy for a fortnight and leave, you still needed the licence for that fortnight.
You need a Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board in the city where you live, dated within 36 days of your application. Third party clearances are not accepted.
What documents do you need?
The checklist opens with the completed application form and a business registration, corporate profile or master business licence dated within one year of the application.
The Zoning Verification Certificate confirms that the address you will buy from is zoned for the use. Short-term operators should not skip past this: the address matters even when the operation is brief.
The Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check has to come from the police service board where you live and be dated within 36 days of the application. Third party clearances are refused, so allow time for the real thing.
The final item is a copy or photo of the sign giving notice of collection of personal information. It exists because of how this trade works: you take down details about the people you buy from, and the sign is how those people are told that their information is being collected. Post it where a seller will see it before the transaction, and photograph it in position.
Zoning and premises requirements
A Zoning Verification Certificate is required and confirms that the zoning at the address permits the use. It is issued for the property rather than for you.
Where the same category of business was previously licensed at the address within one year, a Zoning Addendum may be completed instead of the full certificate.
The temporary-operator angle is worth flagging. Because this licence covers buying for a short period or on a temporary basis, the address you operate from still has to be zoned for it. A venue that suits your event commercially may not be a location where this use is permitted, so check before you commit to the booking.
No premise plan or site plan appears on this checklist.
Inspections and approvals
A parking inspection is the inspection required. The request for it is circulated by the Licensing Team after your application has been received.
It checks the parking serving the premises against what the site requires.
No fire or health inspection appears on this licence's checklist, which keeps the process short. The substantive obligations for this trade come from Schedule 22 of the by-law rather than from a series of inspections, so read the schedule for the requirements and restrictions that apply once you are licensed.
How much does it cost?
A new application carries a processing fee, the licence fee and the parking inspection fee. HST applies to the processing fee and the inspection fee; the licence fee itself is not subject to HST.
Zoning verification, or the addendum where you qualify for it, is charged on top and carries no HST. The fee schedule therefore shows a total including the zoning line and one without it.
There is no photo fee, because this licence does not come with a municipal photo ID card, and no security deposit, which is a pawnbroker requirement rather than one that applies here.
Renewal is charged as the licence fee. A licence allowed to lapse carries a reinstatement fee with HST. Amounts are set in the City's fee schedule and confirmed when you apply.
How to apply
Decide which licence fits what you actually do. Buying to smelt puts you here; buying to resell puts you in the second hand shop class; lending against goods puts you in the pawnbroker class.
Request the Zoning Verification Certificate for the address you will buy from, complete the application form, and obtain a business registration or corporate profile dated within the past year.
Order the Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check from the police service board where you live, timed to be within 36 days when you file.
Put up the personal information collection sign and photograph it in place. Then file the application. After it is received, the Licensing Team circulates the request for the parking inspection.
Renewals and staying compliant
Declarations A and B both have to be completed at renewal. There is no in-person attendance requirement for this licence.
The renewal charge listed is the licence fee, with no repeat inspection charges built into the renewal structure.
Check the sign at renewal time. The notice of collection of personal information is easy to lose behind a display or damage during a refit, and it is one of the few visible obligations attached to this licence.
Renew before the expiry date. A late licence has to be reinstated, and reinstatement carries its own fee with HST added.
Quick quiz: test what you learned
Three questions, all answered in this guide. Click an answer to check it.
1. What defines a precious metals and jewellery dealer under the by-law?
The definition turns on purpose: the business buys jewellery or precious metals in order to smelt them.
2. Does a weekend gold-buying pop-up need this licence?
The definition expressly extends to businesses operating for a short period or on a temporary basis.
3. What does the checklist ask you to supply a copy or photo of?
The checklist requires a copy or photo of the sign giving notice of the collection of personal information.
Skip the paperwork
Tell Permits2Go about your business and it assembles the licence application for you — document checklists, e-signatures and a guided workspace for Hamilton, with more cities on the way.
This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Licensing requirements, by-laws and fees change and vary by municipality — always confirm the current rules with the City before you apply.