West Virginia § 47-26-2 - 47-26-2. Purchase and Pawn Transaction Records.

§ 47-26-2. 47-26-2. Purchase and Pawn Transaction Records.

(a) All pawnbrokers shall make and maintain a transaction report on all purchase or pawn transactions, except for refinance pawn transactions or merchandise bought from a manufacturer or wholesaler with an established place of business. The required transaction report shall include the following:

(1) The date of the transaction;

(2) The name of the seller;

(3) The name of the clerk who handled the transaction;

(4) The corresponding pawn ticket number;

(5) The terms of the loan or purchase;

(6) A copy of the seller's or pledger's government photo identification and type; Provided, That if the seller or pledger does not have a government issued photo identification, the pawnbroker shall have a photograph of the seller or pledger; and

(7) A detailed description of the property.

(b)For purposes of meeting the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, a detailed description of the property shall include the following:

(1)In the case of firearms, the description shall include the brand, model, caliber, type, and serial number;

(2) In the case of jewelry, the type of jewelry presented, the karat weight, whether it is made of white gold, yellow gold or other precious metals, and other description of the stones, shape, cut, and oddities, etc. which are sufficient to describe the article of jewelry;

(3) In the case of other types of articles and property, the description shall include the type of article, brand, model and serial number on the article, or any other such identifying information or description to which is sufficient to specifically describe the item or property.

(c) The seller or pledger shall be required to sign the pawn transaction statement or purchase transaction statement; and a signed statement from the seller or pledger affirming ownership shall appear on the bill of sale or pawn ticket that is completed by the seller or pledger at the time of the transaction.

(d) The pawnbroker shall maintain the original of all purchase or pawn transaction statements for three years, and shall make the original copies of the purchase or pawn transaction statements available for inspection by law-enforcement officers and law-enforcement agencies upon request during the posted hours of operation of the business.

(e) The information required to be collected pursuant to this section is confidential, is not public record, and should only be disclosed as provided in this section or otherwise provided by law: Provided, That the confidential nature of this information in no way impedes the pawnbroker's duty to accurately collect and timely provide the information to law enforcement.