Apply for a Pawnbroker or Second-Hand Dealer Licence

Pawnbrokers and second-hand dealers in Western Australia are governed by the Pawnbroker and Second-Hand Dealer Act 1994 and the Pawnbroker and Second-Hand Dealer Regulations 1996.
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ANNOUNCEMENT

01/12/2025 - Christmas/New Year Office Closure

The Cannington licensing office will close at 12.00pm on Wednesday 24/12/2025 and re-open at 8.00am on Monday 5/1/2026

 

As the licensing authority in Western Australia, we strongly encourage you to familiarise yourself with the laws relating to you and your business transactions.

There are three types of licences available:

  1. Pawnbroker
  2. Second-hand dealer
  3. Combined.

Types of licences

Pawnbroker

The Pawnbroker Licence allows the holder to lend money on the security of pawned goods. A licence cannot be utilised for the purposes of second-hand dealing.

A Pawnbroker licence is not a stand-alone licence, it can only be held in conjunction with a Second-hand Dealer licence.

The licence cannot be transferred to another person and is only valid for the business it was originally applied for on behalf of. If a business wishes to change licence holders, a full new application must be submitted.

Second-Hand Dealer

The Second-Hand Dealers Licence allows the holder to buy, sell or exchange second-hand goods, whether the goods are bought, sold or exchanged on the person’s own behalf or on behalf of another person.

A Second-Hand Dealer Licence cannot be utilised for the purposes of pawnbroking.

The licence cannot be transferred to another person and is only valid for the business it was originally applied for on behalf of. If a business wishes to change licence holders, a full new application must be submitted.

Combined

Where a person is licenced for both pawnbroking and second-hand dealing, the licence holder is able to lend money on the security of pawned goods and buy, sell or exchange second-hand goods, whether the goods are bought, sold or exchanged on the person’s own behalf or on behalf of another person.

The licence cannot be transferred to another person and is only valid for the business it was originally applied for on behalf of. If a business wishes to change licence holders, a full new application must be submitted.

Application forms

Click on and complete the relevant form that best relates to your requirements:

Fees

Pawnbroker & Secondhand Dealer Licence application fees (PDF, 299KB) must accompany your application and can be made by cash (in person only), EFTPOS or credit. You can also pay by cheque or money order, payable to the Commissioner of Police. 

Processing time

Processing time is approximately 6-8 weeks for new applications and 4 weeks for renewals.

TAG FAQ's

See Frequently Asked Questions for more information about TAG 

List of current licence holders

TAG Information

TAG is the mandatory system that transactions must be entered into.

Transaction Reporting Options

The Western Australia Police Force uses a mandatory reporting system (TAG) to facilitate Licensed Pawnbrokers, Second Hand Dealer and Scrap Metal Dealers (trading in Copper and Copper Alloys) ability to meet their legislatively required reporting obligations as per Section 79 of the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand
Dealers Act 1994, together with Regulation 5 of the Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Regulations 1996, Table Item 6.

There are two modes for uploading transactions into TAG. The default option is Direct Entry, but if your Organisation has specific software you can utilise the File Upload option.
 

Direct entry

Direct entry users use the web based application provided by the Western Australia Police Force to capture their customer transactions in real-time.

Users will require access to an internet connected computer or tablet to capture customer and transaction details at the point of customer contact.

Transactions can be saved while in progress and will be automatically submitted to the Western Australia Police Force when finalised. 

For an overview of the direct entry process see training videos
 

File upload

File upload users use their own system to capture their customer transactions on a daily basis and to produce a set of files for each trading location, that comply to a specification provided by the Western Australia Police Force.

Nominated employees are then required to log on to the TAGWEB system at the end of each day and upload the file sets from each trading location. (Note: that direct API integration is not available at this time). For an overview of the direct entry process see training videos.

Once the licence has been approved and issued the licence holder will receive a ‘Welcome to TAG’ email which will contain login details to enable access to TAG.

If you require further assistance please email: licensingservicessecondhand@police.wa.gov.au

Contact Police Licensing Services

For application fee queries or payments:

303 Sevenoaks Street, Cannington WA 6107 
Open Monday–Friday, 8.00am–3.00pm (closed public holidays)

Applicants more than 50km from the Perth General Post Office can submit at their local police station.

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