California · Penal Code

PEN §496a: (a) Every person who is a dealer in or collector of junk, metals, or secondhand materials, or the agent, employee, or representative of such dealer or collector, and who buys or receives any wire, cab

Misdemeanor

What this law says, in plain English

A junk dealer or collector who buys materials (wire, copper, etc.) belonging to utilities or government without verifying the seller's right to sell commits a crime punishable by up to one year in county jail and/or fines.

Read the full statutory text
(a) Every person who is a dealer in or collector of junk, metals, or secondhand materials, or the agent, employee, or representative of such dealer or collector, and who buys or receives any wire, cable, copper, lead, solder, mercury, iron, or brass which they know or reasonably should know is ordinarily used by or ordinarily belongs to a railroad or other transportation, telephone, telegraph, gas, water, or electric light company, or a county, city, city and county, or other political subdivision of this state engaged in furnishing public utility service, without using due diligence to ascertain that the person selling or delivering the same has a legal right to do so, is guilty of criminally receiving that property, and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. (b) Any person who buys or receives material pursuant to subdivision (a) shall obtain evidence of their identity from the seller, including, but not limited to, that person’s full name, signature, address, driver’s license number, and vehicle license number, and the license number of the vehicle delivering the material. (c) The record of the transaction shall include an appropriate description of the material purchased and the record shall be maintained pursuant to Section 21607 of the Business and Professions Code.

Verify at the official source: California legislative text

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.