Alarm Permit in Arlington, TX
Permit Summary
Alarm Permit Basics
Alarm Systems Covered
Arlington requires a permit for each alarm system at a residence or business that is intended, or would reasonably be expected, to summon Arlington police, whether or not it is monitored. The ordinance excludes vehicle alarms, occupant-only alarms that do not emit an exterior audible or visible signal, and Personal Emergency Response Systems.
Who Must Register
The person who owns, controls, or operates the covered alarm system at the alarm site must obtain the permit. Each apartment resident with an alarm must obtain a permit for that unit; apartment management is responsible for alarm systems in nonresidential areas such as offices, storage areas, clubhouses, and weight rooms.
Monitoring Rules
A monitoring provider must be licensed as required by Texas law. Before relaying an alarm notification, the alarm systems company must attempt verification by telephone or other electronic means, transmit alarms and cancellations in the City's required manner, and relay the current permit number. The permit holder is responsible for giving the alarm company the permit number.
Registration & Renewal
Registration Timing
The alarm permit must be obtained before the system becomes operational; Arlington states there is no warning or grace period. The permit becomes effective immediately when entered into the City's system.
Permit Validity
A permit is valid for one year. The code measures the term from the earlier of the permit's issuance date or the date of the first false-alarm notification.
Renewal Rules
Alarm permits are renewed annually by submitting an updated application. The code places responsibility on the permit holder to submit the renewal application 10 days before expiration. Arlington mails a renewal notice about four weeks before expiration, and the annual $50 fee is due unless the holder qualifies for a fee exemption. If the permit expires and the record is deleted, a new application and new permit number are required.
Multiple System Rules
A separate permit is required for each alarm site and each alarm unit. Offices at one address that occupy multiple suites need a permit for each suite. In multiunit housing, each resident with an alarm needs a permit for that residential unit, while the owner or property manager must separately permit alarm systems in nonresidential areas.
Transfer / Change Rules
Alarm permits cannot be transferred to another person or alarm site. A permit holder must notify the Police Chief in writing within two business days of any change to information on the permit application, including a change of monitoring company; no fee is assessed for such updates.
Alarm Company Requirements
Alarm Company Rules
Alarm systems companies must comply with state licensing requirements. When installing or activating a covered system, the company must give the occupant information about false-alarm laws, prevention, and system operation, and must notify the City within 30 days with the company name and license number, occupant name, alarm-site address, and installation or activation date. Monitoring companies must attempt verification before dispatch requests, relay the current permit number, keep specified dispatch records for at least 13 months, and may be assessed $25 for each incorrect or incomplete permit number relayed to the City.
False Alarms & Penalties
False Alarm Allowance
The first three false-alarm notifications in any 12-month period are not charged a service fee. Arlington's current permit guidance states that the one-year false-alarm period begins on the date of the first false alarm. Notifications caused by specified criminal activity, physical damage, natural or man-made catastrophe, or proven telephone-line transmission malfunction are not counted for service-fee purposes under the ordinance.
False Alarm Penalties
The 4th and 5th false alarms in the preceding 12 months are $50 each, the 6th and 7th are $75 each, and the 8th and subsequent false alarms are $100 each. The code also provides for permit denial or nonrenewal after eight or more false alarms in the preceding 12 months and requires revocation for specified excessive-false-alarm conditions, including eight or more false alarms or at least six caused by mechanical malfunction or faulty equipment in a 12-month period.
Unpermitted Alarm Penalty
Operating a covered alarm system without a current permit is an offense. A violation of the Alarm Systems Chapter is punishable by a fine of up to $500 for each offense. Arlington also states that police usually will not respond to burglar alarms at addresses without a valid permit; if police do respond, the alarm user will receive a citation.
Dispatch & Appeals
Dispatch / Response Rules
Arlington police usually respond to burglar alarms only at addresses with a valid alarm permit. Police respond to human-activated alarms such as panic and hold-up alarms even without a valid permit, and may respond when an alarm is reported by a neighbor or other third party; an unpermitted location can still be cited. Monitoring companies must attempt verification before relaying an alarm and must provide the current permit number.
Appeal Rules
A permit holder disputing a false-alarm determination must appeal in writing to the Alarm Administrator within five working days after receiving the false-alarm notice, stating the alarm date and reasons; the Alarm Administrator decides within five working days. That decision may be appealed in writing to the Police Chief within five working days, whose decision is final. A denial, nonrenewal, or revocation may be appealed to the City Manager by written hearing request within 10 days after notice; a timely appeal stays a revocation, and the hearing officer must decide within 30 days.
What Alarm Users Need to Know
Requirements
Obtain the permit before the alarm system becomes operational; there is no warning or grace period. A separate permit is required for each alarm site and each alarm unit. An individual signing an application must be at least 18. Permit holders must keep the permit at the alarm site, provide the permit number to the monitoring company when applicable, maintain the system to minimize false alarms, and comply with the City's alarm-operation rules.
Exemptions
The Alarm Systems Chapter excludes alarms installed on vehicles, alarms designed only to alert people on the premises that do not emit an exterior audible or visible signal, and Personal Emergency Response Systems as defined by state law. Age-65 and 100%-disabled-veteran provisions are fee exemptions, not permit exemptions, for otherwise covered systems.
Documents / Information
A completed alarm permit application must provide the applicant and alarm-site information, a responsible contact, and the monitoring alarm company's name and contact information when applicable. Arlington's residential application also requests identification information, three emergency contacts, and alarm-company information. The $50 fee is due unless a fee exemption applies; the residential form requires supporting VA documentation for a 100% disabled-veteran fee exemption.