Alarm Permit in Albuquerque, NM
Permit Summary
Alarm Permit Basics
Alarm Systems Covered
The ordinance covers mechanical, electrical, or electronic systems that detect unauthorized entry or an emergency on real property and either emit sound off the premises or transmit an electronic signal off the premises. Covered alarm events include intrusion/burglary, duress/hold-up, manually activated emergency assistance, fire, smoke, carbon monoxide, and heat alarms. Automatic voice dialers to law enforcement are prohibited.
Who Must Register
The alarm user is responsible for ensuring the system is properly permitted. An alarm user is the person or entity using or controlling the alarm site; for rental property, the renter is treated as the alarm user. Alarm installation and monitoring companies must report new systems to FARU, and the current portal also allows users to register directly.
Monitoring Rules
A monitoring business must hold an Albuquerque Alarm Business Permit, keep alarm-notification records for at least 12 months, and report newly monitored Albuquerque systems to FARU monthly by the 25th. Before requesting law-enforcement response it must attempt to verify every alarm except duress/hold-up and fire alarms, promptly communicate cancellations, provide its Alarm Business Permit number and available alarm-location/type information to dispatch, and make every possible effort to contact the alarm user or designated contacts.
Registration & Renewal
Registration Timing
The initial Alarm User Permit application and fee must be submitted within 60 days after alarm-system installation; if no installation date is documented, the first recorded activation is treated as the installation date. The City's FAQ advises users to contact FARU if the system has been installed for more than 45 days and they have not received a permit application and invoice.
Permit Validity
The Alarm User Permit is annual and authorizes operation of the alarm system at the permitted alarm site.
Renewal Rules
The permit must be renewed annually for $25 unless a fee waiver applies. FARU states that current permitted alarm users are automatically notified about 30 days before the permit renewal date.
Multiple System Rules
A separate Alarm User Permit is required for each alarm site, and each separately alarmed tenancy in a multi-tenant building or complex is a separate alarm site. The current online registration portal also states that separate permits must be maintained for Fire and Burglar alarm systems.
Transfer / Change Rules
An Alarm User Permit cannot be transferred to another person or another alarm site. The permit holder must notify FARU within 30 days whenever information on the permit application changes.
Alarm Company Requirements
Alarm Company Rules
Alarm installation/repair businesses and monitoring businesses must hold annual Albuquerque Alarm Business Permits; the business-permit fee is $150 for issuance and renewal, and installation/repair businesses must also hold required New Mexico licensing. Installation and monitoring businesses must report new systems to FARU monthly by the 25th. Installers must provide FARU information to new alarm users, and monitoring businesses must follow verification, cancellation, dispatch-information, recordkeeping, and contact procedures required by the ordinance.
False Alarms & Penalties
False Alarm Allowance
A permitted alarm user is not assessed a service fee for the first three false-alarm responses in a permit year. If a monitoring company cancels before Public Safety Officers arrive, the event is not counted as a false alarm for service-fee purposes, except for priority-one calls. If an installation/repair business repairs a mechanical problem within 10 days after a false alarm and submits the repair record to FARU, FARU may delete that false alarm; no more than six repair deletions are allowed per permit per year.
False Alarm Penalties
After the first three false alarms in a permit year, the current ordinance charges $150 for each additional false intrusion/burglary, duress/hold-up, or manually activated emergency-assistance alarm; $300 for each additional false fire, smoke, carbon-monoxide, or heat alarm at a business; and $150 for each such additional false alarm at a residence. After ten false alarms in a permit year, each additional false alarm is subject to a $500 fine. Commercial users with more than two false fire, smoke, carbon-monoxide, or heat alarms in a permit year are referred to the Fire Marshal's Office for inspection.
Unpermitted Alarm Penalty
Operating an activity covered by the Alarm System Ordinance without the required permit is a petty misdemeanor subject to Albuquerque's general penalty of a fine up to $500, imprisonment up to 90 days, or both; each day of violation is a separate offense. A monitoring business that reports an alarm to Albuquerque Police or Fire without a valid Alarm Business Permit is also assessed $250 per occurrence.
Dispatch & Appeals
Dispatch / Response Rules
Police and Fire respond to alarm notifications according to department protocol, and an Alarm User Permit does not guarantee a public-safety response. Monitoring companies must attempt verification before requesting law-enforcement response except for duress/hold-up and fire alarms, and must immediately communicate cancellations after verifying a false alarm. A cancellation before responders arrive is not a chargeable false alarm except for priority-one calls. Alarm users or their representatives must respond within 30 minutes when City officials request access, deactivation, or alternative security.
Appeal Rules
A person or entity receiving a false-alarm notice or a notice of fees or fines may submit a written request for review to the FARU supervisor. The request must be received within 30 days after receipt of the notice or within 33 days after the notice was mailed, whichever occurs first. If the FARU supervisor denies review, the decision may be appealed to a City Hearing Officer under the Independent Office of Hearings Ordinance. Payment of false-alarm fees is suspended while a requested hearing is pending.
What Alarm Users Need to Know
Requirements
A covered alarm system at an Albuquerque alarm site must have a valid annual Alarm User Permit. The alarm user must keep the system and site maintained to reasonably eliminate false alarms, train authorized users, provide access or deactivation within 30 minutes when requested by City officials, notify the monitoring company before testing, and keep permit information current.
Exemptions
There is no general permit exemption for an alarm system covered by the ordinance. The ordinance defines an Alarm System as a device that detects unauthorized entry or an emergency and either emits sound off the premises or transmits an electronic signal off the premises; systems that do neither fall outside that definition. Government facilities are assigned permits for tracking but are exempt from permit fees, service fees, and fines.
Documents / Information
The Alarm User Permit application requires identifying and contact information for the person controlling the site; the alarm-site address; residential or commercial classification; owner-occupied or leased status and owner information when leased; business name if applicable; alarm-system type and purpose; two contact persons able to respond within 30 minutes; the monitoring company's name and Alarm Business Permit number if applicable; and, for a newly installed system not installed by the homeowner, the installer's name and Alarm Business Permit number. Fee-waiver applicants must provide the documentation specified by the ordinance.