West Virginia Code
Article 2C. Auctioneers
§19-2C-2. License Required; Exceptions

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person shall conduct an auction as an auctioneer in this state unless he or she shall have first obtained from the commissioner a license therefor.
(b) The provisions of this section do not apply to:
(1) Persons conducting sales at auctions conducted by or under the direction of any public authority or pursuant to any judicial order or direction or to any sale required by law to be at auction;
(2) The owner of any real or personal property when personally sold at auction by the owner and the owner has not personally conducted an auction within the previous 12-month period;
(3) Persons conducting sales pursuant to a deed of trust;
(4) Fiduciaries of estates when selling real or personal property of the estate;
(5) Persons conducting sales without compensation on behalf of charitable, religious, fraternal, or other nonprofit organizations: Provided, That the commissioner shall promulgate rules to limit the number of charitable auctions an exempt person may perform in a 12-month period;
(6) Persons properly licensed pursuant to the provisions in §30-40-1 et seq. of this code when conducting an auction, any portion of which contains any leasehold or any estate in land whether corporeal or incorporeal, freehold or nonfreehold, when the person is retained to conduct an auction by a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy, a fiduciary acting under the authority of a deed of trust or will, or a fiduciary of a decedents estate: Provided, That nothing contained in this article exempts persons conducting sales at public markets from the provisions of §19-2A-1 et seq. of this code, where the sale is confined solely to livestock, poultry, and other agriculture and horticulture products; and
(7) Persons listing items online for sale via a platform that establishes a fixed time for the conclusion of the sale without extension: Provided, That the commissioner may further define this exemption in legislative rules.

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