Auctioneer License Requirements in Pennsylvania
State license required. Pennsylvania requires a state license — auctioneers, apprentices, auction companies, and trading assistants all register with the State Board of Auctioneer Examiners, and online auctions are expressly covered.
What Online Auctioneers Need to Know
Online auctions are expressly inside the law: Act 88 of 2016 defines "auction" to include online, real-time, and extended-time formats. The only narrow carve-out is a Pennsylvania seller using an out-of-state auctioneer for an out-of-state online auction.
The Rules in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania licenses auctioneers, apprentice auctioneers, auction companies, and special licensees — and registers trading assistants — through the State Board of Auctioneer Examiners under 63 P.S. section 734.1 and following. Since Act 88 of 2016, the statutory definition of an auction explicitly includes online and extended-time formats, so the license question does not turn on your sales channel.
Section 734.15a requires a written contract, executed in duplicate before conducting a transaction and including your license number; electronic contracts are acceptable, and records are kept two years. Proceeds must be promptly deposited into an escrow or trust account under section 734.21, and licensees post a $5,000 bond under section 734.7. No fixed settlement deadline was verified, so payment timing belongs in your contract. There is no recovery fund.
Requirements at a Glance
- State license: auctioneer, apprentice, auction company, or special license; trading assistants register (63 P.S. § 734.1 et seq.)
- Online auctions expressly covered (Act 88 of 2016)
- Written contract in duplicate before conducting a transaction, including license number; records 2 years (§ 734.15a)
- Escrow/trust account with prompt deposit of proceeds (§ 734.21)
- $5,000 bond (§ 734.7)
- No fixed statutory settlement deadline verified — set payment timing in your contract
Authority: State Board of Auctioneer Examiners. Statute: 63 P.S. § 734.1 et seq..
Not legal advice. Auction law changes — several states have amended their online-auction rules since 2019. Verify current requirements with the licensing authority above (or your city/county clerk) before your first sale, and have a local attorney review your consignment contract.
Licensed (or Exempt)? Here's the Rest of the Path
The license is usually the easy part. The business itself — platform affiliation, sourcing consignments, cataloging, settlement — is laid out in how to start an online auction business, and the earning math is in how much auctioneers make.