Watch dealing in Washington: records, holds, and tax

Summary

Washington does not license secondhand dealers at state level. RCW 19.60 creates no licence and names no state agency, and DOR's list of state endorsements has no pawnbroker, secondhand or precious-metal entry. What the chapter does create is a set of statewide operating duties: a detailed record of every purchase, a 30-day retention period, a 120-day hold when police flag an item as stolen, and a daily transcript on request.

Those duties reach a dealer whether or not you have a shop. The licence, if there is one, comes from your city.

Who RCW 19.60 reaches

A "secondhand dealer" is everyone in the business, wholly or partly, of purchasing, selling, trading, consignment selling or otherwise transferring secondhand property for value — and the definition adds, expressly, "whether or not the person maintains a fixed place of business within the state" (RCW 19.60.010(8)). An online-only or appointment-only watch dealer is inside it on its face. So is anyone selling at flea markets or swap meets more than three times a year.

"Secondhand property" is any item of personal property offered for sale that is not new. The exclusions are postage stamps, legal-tender coins, hallmarked fabricated bullion bars, used books, and clothing with a resale value of $75 or less (furs excepted) (RCW 19.60.010(10)). Watches are not on that list.

Two definitions narrow it:

• A transaction is a pledge, purchase, consignment or trade "from a member of the general public" (RCW 19.60.010(11)). Buying from another dealer is likely outside it, but that reading has not been tested.
• The chapter exempts a person giving an allowance for a trade-in on the purchase of other merchandise of the same kind and of greater value (RCW 19.60.085(3)). A watch taken in against a more expensive watch is exempt on that wording. A watch taken in for cash, or against a cheaper watch, is not.

The record

At the time of each transaction, RCW 19.60.020 requires:

• the seller's signature, the date, and the name or ID of the employee who handled it
• the seller's name, date of birth, sex, height, weight, race, address and phone number
• the type and number of the ID used — one current government-issued photo ID is always required
• a complete description of the property: brand name, serial number, model number or name, any initials or engraving, size, pattern, and colour or stones
• the price and a transaction number

The record is kept wherever the business is conducted, open to any commissioned officer, for three years after the transaction.

For a watch, "serial number" is the field that matters most, and it is backed by a criminal rule.

A missing serial is a reason to walk away

Under RCW 19.60.066, an item may not be accepted for pledge or secondhand purchase where the manufacturer's make, model or serial number, a personal identification number, or identifying marks engraved or etched on it have been removed, altered or obliterated. Removing or altering them yourself is also prohibited. Both are gross misdemeanours.

A caseback polished smooth, a replaced case with no number, or a re-engraved serial is not a cosmetic issue under this rule. The same section bars buying from a minor, from anyone who is intoxicated, and from anyone you know has a theft-type conviction within the look-back period the statute sets.

Retention: 30 days, and where the watch must stay

RCW 19.60.055 sets the retention period, and it turns on whether you have a permanent place of business:

• With one: property you buy or receive on consignment may not be removed from that place of business within 30 days of receipt (consigned property returned to its owner excepted).
• Without one: the property must be held within the city or county where you received it for 30 days after receipt.

The statute bars removal from the place of business, not sale. Whether you can sell a watch on day 10 and ship or hand it over after day 30 is not settled by the text, and it is the first question to put to an attorney if you buy and list quickly.

Police holds

When a law-enforcement agency notifies you that an item has been reported stolen, you hold it, tagged and intact, for 120 days from the date of notification, unless the agency consents in writing or a court orders release. A verbal hold must be followed by written notice from the agency within 10 business days. Before the period ends you must give the agency 20 days' written notice, or the hold continues for another 120 days (RCW 19.60.045).

Reporting: on request, in the police format

RCW 19.60 names no statewide reporting system. Under RCW 19.60.040, every pawnbroker and secondhand dealer must, upon request, furnish a full, true and correct transcript of the previous day's transactions, on the forms and in the format the chief of police or the county's chief law-enforcement officer requires, within a time they specify that is not less than 24 hours. Electronic transmission is allowed with approval. You must also report property you believe is lost or stolen.

So the practical question is what your local agency asks for. Some cities write their own reporting rule on top.

Gold, silver and platinum

A secondhand precious metal dealer is anyone transacting in secondhand gold, silver or platinum property more than three times per year (RCW 19.60.010(7), (9)). Coins, bullion, and dust, flakes or nuggets are carved out of that definition; a gold or platinum watch is not. Palladium is not on the list.

That tier adds:

• More record. The time of the transaction, the seller's residential address, and a full copy of both sides of each piece of identification used (RCW 19.60.025).
• A local licence. No secondhand precious metal dealer may operate without first obtaining a business licence from the local government where the business is situated (RCW 19.60.077). The statute does not say what kind; whether a general city business licence is enough is an open question.
• The same 30-day hold, with a dealer-to-dealer exception. It does not apply where the precious-metal property came from a pawn shop, jeweller, secondhand dealer or secondhand precious metal dealer who signs a declaration that the property is not, to the best of their knowledge, stolen (RCW 19.60.057).
• A felony on repeat. A second violation involving precious metal is a class C felony (RCW 19.60.067).

In a mixed steel-and-gold book, the gold pieces carry the heavier rules.

Licensing: the state registers you, the city licenses you

RCW 19.60.075 says the chapter is not intended to stop political subdivisions from requiring licences or from enacting stricter rules. That is where dealer licensing lives in Washington.

At state level you need the ordinary Washington business licence, issued through the Business Licensing Service of the Department of Revenue. You need one if, among other triggers, you sell a product that requires collecting sales tax, your gross income is $12,000 a year or more, or you need city or state endorsements. The fees:

• $50 processing fee to open or reopen a business
• $5 annual renewal processing fee, plus a late penalty of half the endorsement fee or up to $150 if you renew after expiry
• city endorsement fees on top, and $5 to register a trade name (as listed on DOR's Spokane city-endorsement page)

An LLC or corporation must file with the Secretary of State first. For an LLC the public organic record (formation) is $180, the annual report $70, and the delinquent fee $25 (WAC 434-112-085). Any online-filing surcharge was not captured.

Then check your city. Seattle requires a used goods dealer licence. Spokane repealed its licence in 2018 and relies on the state rules.

Sales tax, B&O and nexus

The state retail sales tax rate is 6.5%, plus local tax. Washington is destination-based: the rate is set by where the customer receives the watch. For 1 October – 31 December 2026, the combined rate is 10.55% in Seattle and 9.1% in the City of Spokane.

Washington also has a gross-receipts business and occupation (B&O) tax. DOR tells remote sellers to report gross retail sales, marketplace and direct, under Retailing B&O. The rate was not established for this edition.

Economic nexus: since 1 January 2020, a remote seller must register for B&O and sales tax once it has more than $100,000 in combined gross receipts sourced or attributed to Washington in the current or prior year. The count includes sales made through a facilitator, and exempt sales. The old 200-transaction threshold has been eliminated.

Marketplace facilitators register and collect once they have more than $100,000 in combined Washington gross receipts, counting sales they make on behalf of sellers.

The watch law Washington repealed

Washington once had a statute aimed at secondhand watches specifically. Enacted in 1939 (chapter 89), it covered definitions, tags, duplicate invoices, advertising and penalties, at RCW 19.60.065, .070, .080, .090 and .100. All five sections were repealed in 1984 (1984 c 10 § 14, effective 22 March 1984).

If you come across an old reference to watch tags or watch invoices in Washington, it describes a law that no longer exists. The current rules are the general RCW 19.60 duties above.

What this guide does not cover

The B&O tax rate, resale certificate mechanics, and DOR's guidance for sellers on marketplaces were not established from primary sources for this edition, and are left out rather than guessed. The pawnbroker-specific provisions of RCW 19.60 and the hosted home-party rules (RCW 19.60.095) are also outside it.