Except as otherwise provided in this title, a person shall have a license before the person does business as a buyer in the State.

An applicant for a license shall: submit to the Secretary an application on the form that the Secretary provides; and pay to the Secretary an application fee of $300. The application fee is nonrefundable. The applicant shall sign the application under oath. In addition to any other information that the Secretary requires, the application shall state: the name, date of birth, and residence address of the applicant; the business address of the applicant; a telephone number at which the applicant can be reached during normal business hours; each address where the applicant has conducted any business during the 3 years before application; the driver’s license number, if any, of the applicant; and the name and permanent address of the resident agent who will represent the applicant in the State. The application form shall contain immediately above the signature line the following: “If issued a license, I agree to allow a municipal, county, or State police officer or agent acting in the course of a stolen property investigation or an investigation of a violation of this title to inspect and photograph all personal property and records at my business or storage locations.”.

Before an individual may begin work as a resident agent for a buyer: the buyer shall submit to the Secretary on the form that the Secretary provides the name of the individual; and the individual shall apply for a national and State criminal history records check required under § 20–304(b) of this subtitle.

In this section, “Central Repository” means the Criminal Justice Information System Central Repository of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Applicants for licenses under § 20–301 of this subtitle and individuals whose names must be submitted to the Secretary under § 20–303 of this subtitle shall apply to the Central Repository for a national and State criminal history records check on a form approved by the Director of the Central Repository. The Central Repository shall provide to the Secretary: the national and State criminal history records of each individual requiring a criminal history records check under subsection (b) of this section and a printed statement listing any convictions and pleas of guilty or nolo contendere to any criminal charge; an update of the initial criminal history records check for an individual requiring a criminal history records check and a revised printed statement listing any convictions and pleas of guilty or nolo contendere to any criminal charge occurring in the State after the date of the initial criminal history records check; and an acknowledged receipt of the application for a criminal history records check by an individual requiring a criminal history records check. An individual requiring a criminal history records check shall submit a complete set of legible fingerprints taken at any designated State or local law enforcement office in the State or other agency or location approved by the Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services to the Central Repository. An individual requiring a criminal history records check under subsection (b) of this section shall pay: the mandatory processing fee required by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history records check; and the fee authorized under § 10–221(b)(7) of the Criminal Procedure Article for access to Maryland criminal history records. A buyer or an applicant may pay for the costs incurred by the resident agent or other individual requiring a criminal history records check under subsection (b) of this section. Information obtained by the Secretary from the Central Repository under this title shall be confidential and may be disseminated only to the individual who is the subject of the criminal history records check. Nothing in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall preclude the Secretary from notifying a buyer or an applicant of the approval or disqualification of the resident agent for employment based on information obtained by the Secretary under this section. The Secretary shall verify periodically the continued employment or licensure of individuals requiring criminal history records checks in accordance with regulations adopted by the Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

On receipt of a complete national and State criminal record report from the Central Repository in accordance with § 20–304 of this subtitle, the Secretary shall issue a license to each applicant who meets the requirements of this subtitle. The Secretary may not issue a license for an address that is: a hotel or motel room; a motor vehicle; or a post office box. The Secretary may not issue more than one license for a single business location. The Secretary may not issue a license to a minor. Whenever a license is suspended or revoked, another license may not be issued to a buyer for the same business location. A license authorizes the licensee to do business as a buyer only at the address for which the license is issued.

Unless a license is renewed for a 2–year term as provided in this section, the license expires on the first April 30 that comes: after the effective date of the license; and in an even–numbered year. At least 1 month before a license expires, the Secretary shall mail to the licensee, at the last known address of the licensee: a renewal application form; and a notice that states: the date on which the current license expires; the date by which the Secretary must receive the renewal application for the renewal to be issued and mailed before the license expires; and the amount of the renewal fee. Before a license expires, the licensee periodically may renew it for an additional 2–year term if the licensee: submits to the Secretary a renewal application on the form that the Secretary provides; signs the renewal application under oath; updates the information submitted in the original application and states that the information is current; except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, agrees to comply with each requirement applicable to the original application; states that the licensee: has not violated this title; has not been convicted of an offense specified in § 20–307 of this subtitle; and has not had a similar license denied, suspended, or revoked in another jurisdiction; otherwise is entitled to be licensed; and pays to the Secretary a renewal fee of $265. The Secretary may require a licensee to submit a national and State criminal history records check with the renewal application. The Secretary shall renew the license of each licensee who meets the requirements of this section. A license is not transferable and may be used only to benefit the licensee. A licensee may change the place of business for which a license is issued only if the licensee: submits to the Secretary an application to transfer the license to a new business location on a form that the Secretary provides; and receives the written approval of the Secretary. Within 45 days after the application is filed with the Secretary, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove the application and notify the licensee of the approval or disapproval in writing. If the Secretary approves a proposed change of place of business, the licensee shall attach the written approval of the Secretary to the license until an amended license is received by the licensee. The Secretary may determine that licenses issued under this subtitle shall expire on a staggered basis.

In this subsection, a buyer’s or an applicant’s agents, employees, management personnel, or partners include only those individuals who are directly involved in transactions on behalf of the buyer or applicant. Subject to the hearing provisions of § 20–308 of this subtitle, the Secretary may deny a license to an applicant, reprimand a licensee, or suspend or revoke a license if the applicant or licensee or an agent, an employee, a manager, or a partner of the applicant or licensee: fraudulently or deceptively obtains or attempts to obtain a license for the applicant or licensee or for another person; fraudulently or deceptively uses a license; has a similar license denied, suspended, or revoked in another jurisdiction; under the laws of the United States or of any state, is convicted of: a felony; or a misdemeanor that is directly related to the fitness and qualification of the applicant or licensee to be involved in buying or selling personal property; knowingly employs or knowingly continues to employ, after being notified by the Secretary, an individual who, under the laws of the United States or of any state, is convicted of: a felony; or a misdemeanor that is directly related to the fitness and qualification of the employee to be involved in buying or selling personal property; willfully fails to provide or willfully misrepresents any information required to be provided under this title; violates this title; or violates a regulation adopted under this title. Instead of or in addition to reprimanding a licensee or suspending or revoking a license under this subsection, the Secretary may impose a penalty not exceeding $5,000 for each violation. To determine the amount of the penalty imposed under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider: the seriousness of the violation; the harm caused by the violation; the good faith of the licensee; and any history of previous violations by the licensee. The Secretary shall pay any penalty collected under this subsection into the General Fund of the State. The Secretary shall distribute periodically to all buyers a list of individuals whose licenses have been revoked in the State. If a licensee is charged with a violation of this title that could result in suspension or revocation of the license, the Secretary may seek from a circuit court an immediate restraining order to prohibit the licensee from: buying or selling personal property; disposing of personal property; or disposing of a record about personal property. The restraining order is in effect until: the court lifts the order; or the charges are adjudicated or dismissed. The Secretary shall consider the following facts in the granting, denial, renewal, suspension, or revocation of a license or the reprimand of a licensee when an applicant or a licensee is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor described in subsection (a)(2) of this section: the nature of the crime; the relationship of the crime to the activities authorized by the license; with respect to a felony, the relevance of the conviction to the fitness and qualification of the applicant or licensee to act as a buyer; the length of time since the conviction; and the behavior and activities of the applicant or licensee before and after the conviction.

Except as otherwise provided in § 10–226 of the State Government Article, before the Secretary takes any final action under § 20–307 of this subtitle, the Secretary shall give the individual against whom the action is contemplated an opportunity for a hearing before the Secretary. The Secretary shall give notice and hold the hearing in accordance with Title 10, Subtitle 2 of the State Government Article. The Secretary may administer oaths in a proceeding under this section. If, after due notice, the individual against whom the action is contemplated does not appear, nevertheless the Secretary may hear and determine the matter.

A party to a proceeding under this title who is aggrieved by a final decision of the Secretary in a contested case, as defined in § 10–202 of the State Government Article, may take an appeal as allowed in §§ 10–222 and 10–223 of the State Government Article.

The Secretary shall inform each primary law enforcement unit of each license that is issued, renewed, changed to a new business location, denied, suspended, or revoked.