Selling a catalytic converter in New Hampshire

Who may sell a detached converter

The license sits with the buyer and it comes from the town. The governing body of any town, city, or unincorporated place may license suitable persons to be dealers in and keepers of shops for the purchase and sale or barter of old junk and old or scrap metals within that place, and may designate where the business is carried on (§ 322:1). No person who is not licensed may purchase any of those commodities unless acting as a helper to, and accompanied by, a licensee (§ 322:12). A license runs until the following April 1 unless sooner revoked and may be renewed on application (§ 322:3).

For a converter the seller has to bring paper. No person or entity licensed as a junk dealer, second-hand dealer, motor vehicle repair shop, automobile graveyard, or junkyard under the chapter may purchase, accept, or acquire a catalytic converter from another person or entity unless the seller or offeror presents proof of identification in addition to a bill of sale or other legal document demonstrating ownership of the converter, and the licensee preserves photocopies or digital images of that documentation (§ 322:16, VI).

New Hampshire then narrows who the seller may be. No scrap metal business may enter into a transaction to purchase or receive private metal property from any person who is not a commercial enterprise or the owner of the vehicle from which the converter was removed, and where the seller is that owner, the owner has to provide the year, make, model, and vehicle identification number of the vehicle it came off (§ 322:16, XII). The section does not apply to acquisitions or purchases of whole motor vehicles (§ 322:16, XI), and licensed vehicle salvage yards are exempt where they take in a full and complete car rather than pieces or parts related to the sale of a converter (§ 322:16, XIII).

What the buyer must record

The chapter's baseline record is short. Each person required to be licensed keeps records sufficient to the licensing authority of the accumulation, storage, and handling of commodities as a junk or scrap metal dealer, legibly written in English, giving an account and description of the goods purchased, the date and time of purchase, and the name and residence of the seller verified by photo identification issued by a governmental agency (§ 322:6-a).

Converters draw a much longer list. The licensee keeps records of all converter transactions containing the date of the transaction; the name, address, telephone number, and signature of the person the converter was purchased or received from; a photocopy or digital image of that person's photo identification; the license plate number and vehicle identification number of the vehicle used to bring the metal in, where applicable; a description of the converter; a photograph of the converter; photocopies or digital images of the bill of sale or other legal documents demonstrating the seller's ownership; and the price paid (§ 322:16, VII(a) to (h)). Paragraph II requires a parallel eight-item report on old or used metals to law enforcement on request of the chief of police of the licensing city or town (§ 322:16, II).

Two limits keep the paperwork from compounding. Records established under the section are retained for two years from the date of the transaction, which does not relieve the licensee of any other retention requirement imposed by law (§ 322:16, IV), and nothing in the section requires additional recordkeeping for junked autos or automobile parts beyond what other law already requires (§ 322:16, III). Where the seller is itself licensed under chapter 322, has already created a record under the section, and provides a written statement affirming that record at the time of the transaction, the section does not apply to the purchase (§ 322:16, V). Any officer having jurisdiction may enter a licensee's premises, examine the commodities kept there and all books and inventories relating to them, and the licensee has to exhibit them on demand (§ 322:7).

How you are paid

There is one method and no discretion. All persons or entities involved in the sale and purchasing of a catalytic converter shall use a company check as a method of payment (§ 322:16, IX). The rule is written on both sides of the transaction, so it binds the seller's choice as much as the buyer's, and the chapter names no cash ceiling for converters because it permits no cash at all.

The waiting period runs against the metal, not the money. Any person or entity licensed under the chapter shall retain the converter received for a period of ten days, and throughout the holding period the converter has to be kept separate and distinct from other property and may not be deformed or treated in any way that might damage or affect its identity (§ 322:16, VIII). Nothing conditions that on a police request, so it is a standing hold on every converter the licensee buys.

Nothing in the chapter delays the check, directs it to a particular address, or caps what may be paid. The two clocks that matter are the ten day hold on the unit (§ 322:16, VIII) and the two year retention of the record (§ 322:16, IV). A licensee buying from another chapter 322 licensee who affirms an existing record is outside the section, and therefore outside both the payment rule and the hold (§ 322:16, V).

Penalties

The chapter grades almost everything the same way. Violations of § 322:16 are a misdemeanor under § 322:13 (§ 322:16, X), and § 322:13 itself makes any violation of chapter 322 or of a licensee's own license a misdemeanor where no other punishment is provided (§ 322:13). Because § 322:16, X points back to that section, paying cash, skipping the ten day hold, and buying without the bill of sale all carry the same grade.

Unlicensed dealing is treated separately and by the day. Anyone who deals in those commodities without a license, keeps a shop for their purchase, sale, or barter without a license, or accumulates, stores, or handles them for sale without a license, and any licensee who carries on the business at a place other than the one specified in the license or after notice of revocation, is guilty of a violation for each day the offense continues (§ 322:4). The superior court may also enjoin a person from dealing in those commodities, from keeping a shop for them, or from accumulating, storing, or handling them contrary to the chapter, and may enjoin a licensee from carrying on the business anywhere but the place designated in the license (§ 322:5).

Obstruction is its own misdemeanor. A licensee, clerk, agent, or other person in charge of the premises who refuses to admit an authorized officer or fails to exhibit the commodities, books, and inventories on demand, and anyone who willfully hinders, obstructs, or prevents an officer from entering or examining, is guilty of a misdemeanor (§ 322:8). The board that grants licenses may also revoke one at its discretion after a hearing on charges preferred (§ 322:2).

What this means when you sell to us

Bring a government photo ID and a bill of sale or other document showing you own the converter, because New Hampshire requires both before we can take it in, and we keep copies of each (§ 322:16, VI, VII). If you are not a business, you have to be the owner of the vehicle the converter came off and give us its year, make, model, and vehicle identification number (§ 322:16, XII). Payment is never cash. New Hampshire allows only a company check for a converter (§ 322:16, IX). We also hold each unit for ten days, kept apart and untouched, before it moves on (§ 322:16, VIII).