What to bring when selling precious metals in New Jersey
New Jersey requires photo identification for precious metals transactions. Here is what to expect, and what to bring to avoid a wasted trip.
Editorial note — remove before publishing. The regulatory specifics below must be verified with counsel and with each store’s municipal police department before this page goes live. New Jersey administers precious metals dealer licensing and reporting at the municipal level, so requirements and holding periods differ between Livingston, Blackwood and Cherry Hill. Do not publish unverified legal detail on a page like this.
New Jersey regulates dealers in secondhand precious metals, and the requirements affect you as a seller as much as they affect us.
Bring government photo ID
This is not optional and it is not a shop policy. We cannot complete a purchase without identifying the seller, so arriving without ID means a wasted trip. A driver’s license or passport is fine.
Expect the transaction to be recorded
Purchases are recorded and reported to local law enforcement. This is routine, it applies to every licensed dealer in the state, and it is one of the reasons to prefer a licensed shop over an informal buyer.
Expect a holding period
Items purchased are held for a period before they can be resold or refined. TODO — confirm the exact period applicable in each municipality.
This matters to you in one specific way: it is part of why a dealer’s offer sits below the headline market price for the metal. We are carrying the item, and the risk that the market moves, for the length of that hold.
What else to bring
- The items themselves, unsorted and uncleaned
- Any certificates, slabs or original packaging
- If you are acting for an estate, documentation of your authority to sell
If you are unsure whether something qualifies, bring it. There is no charge for looking.