Alarm Permit in Dallas, TX
Permit Summary
Alarm Permit Basics
Alarm Systems Covered
The police-response program covers alarm systems at residential and commercial sites that emit, transmit, or relay a signal intended or reasonably expected to summon Dallas police, including local alarms. Applications classify systems as burglar, holdup/panic/duress, or a combination. Vehicle alarms are excluded unless the vehicle is used for habitation at a permanent site, and alarms that only alert occupants are excluded when they do not have a local alarm.
Who Must Register
The person operating or causing operation of the alarm system must obtain the permit and designate a permit holder responsible for alarm response, site access, system maintenance and operation, and fees. An apartment tenant must obtain a permit for the tenant's residential unit; the owner or property manager must hold the required master permit and any permit required for nonresidential apartment areas.
Monitoring Rules
An alarm company monitoring systems in Dallas must use police-designated telephone numbers. Before requesting police response to a burglar alarm, it must make two telephone attempts using different numbers to contact an occupant and verify the alarm. When reporting burglar or holdup/panic/duress alarms, it must provide the alarm permit number and site address and follow the form and method specified by the chief. Automatic alarm notifications may not be transmitted directly to the police communications center.
Registration & Renewal
Registration Timing
A valid permit must be obtained before an alarm system is operated or caused to be operated. For apartment residential units, the tenant must obtain the permit before operation. An alarm company must confirm that a valid city permit exists before activating an installed system or performing a conversion.
Permit Validity
A permit expires one year after its date of issuance.
Renewal Rules
The permit must be renewed annually by submitting an updated application and the applicable renewal fee. Before terminating a permit for nonrenewal, the chief must provide 30 days' prior written notice of the need to renew and file an updated application.
Multiple System Rules
Dallas requires a separate permit for each alarm site. An alarm site is a single premises or location served by one or more alarm systems under one person's control. In apartment complexes, a tenant needs a permit for the tenant's residential unit, the owner or property manager must obtain a master permit when systems are installed in residential units, and a separate permit is required for alarm systems in nonresidential areas.
Transfer / Change Rules
An alarm permit cannot be transferred to another person or another alarm site. The permit holder must report any change affecting information on the permit application within two business days, with no fee for the update. Dallas Police guidance also directs permit holders who move to notify the alarm office so the permit can be cancelled.
Alarm Company Requirements
Alarm Company Rules
Alarm companies used for installation or conversion, and relaying intermediaries used for alarm reporting, must satisfy the Dallas code and be licensed by the Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau. Before conversion or activation, the alarm company must confirm a valid city permit. Within 30 days after installation, activation, or conversion, a contracted alarm company must certify specified system, site, licensing, instruction, and training information to the chief. A company representative must attend a required system-performance review after notice.
False Alarms & Penalties
False Alarm Allowance
A permitted alarm site receives three false burglar alarm notifications without service fees during any 12-month period. There is no free false-alarm allowance for holdup, panic, or duress alarms: residential sites are charged from the first false event, and commercial sites follow an escalating schedule beginning with the first false event.
False Alarm Penalties
For false burglar alarms within any 12-month period, the 4th through 6th are $50 each, the 7th and 8th are $75 each, and the 9th and subsequent are $100 each. Each residential false holdup/panic/duress alarm is $100. For commercial sites and specified nonresidential apartment areas, false holdup/panic/duress alarms are $100 for the 1st, $200 for the 2nd, $300 for the 3rd, and $400 for the 4th and subsequent. The chief may revoke a permit when the system has had eight or more false alarm notifications in the preceding 12 months.
Unpermitted Alarm Penalty
Operating an alarm system without a valid permit is an offense. The chief must refuse police response to alarm notifications from an unpermitted commercial or residential alarm site except for duress, holdup, or panic alarms, or when a person other than an alarm company reports the event to 9-1-1 or directly to police. Violations of Article I are punishable by a fine of $200 to $500 for a first conviction and $250 to $500 for a second or subsequent conviction, with a separate offense for each day or portion of a day the violation continues.
Dispatch & Appeals
Dispatch / Response Rules
For burglar alarms reported by an alarm company, the monitoring company must first make two telephone attempts using different numbers to contact an occupant and verify the alarm, then provide the permit number and site address when requesting police response. Police response is refused for alarm-company notifications from sites without a valid permit, except duress, holdup, and panic alarms; reports made to 9-1-1 or police by a person other than an alarm company are also excepted from that nonresponse rule.
Appeal Rules
An applicant or permit holder may appeal a permit denial, nonrenewal, revocation, or assessment of a false-alarm service fee to the city manager. A written hearing request stating the reasons for appeal must be filed within 10 days after receipt of the action notice or service-fee bill. A timely filing stays the action or fee assessment pending decision. The city manager or designee serves as hearing officer and must issue a decision within 60 days; the decision is final as to city administrative remedies.
What Alarm Users Need to Know
Requirements
Obtain a valid Security Alarm Permit before operating an alarm system at a residential or commercial alarm site. A separate permit is required for each alarm site. The permit holder is responsible for proper operation and maintenance and payment of applicable fees; alarm systems installed or converted by an alarm company, and relaying intermediaries used to report signals, must meet the code's licensing and operational requirements.
Exemptions
The police-alarm permit rules do not cover a vehicle alarm unless the vehicle is used for habitation at a permanent site, or an alarm designed only to alert people inside the premises when it has no local alarm. Otherwise, an alarm system intended or reasonably expected to summon Dallas police is subject to the permit rules.
Documents / Information
Submit the city's alarm-permit application with the permit holder's name, address, telephone number, and driver's license number or other government-issued photo-identification number; identify the site as residential or commercial; identify the system as burglar, holdup/panic/duress, or a combination; provide any other information required by the chief; and pay the applicable permit fee.