Alarm Permit in Indianapolis, IN
Permit Summary
Alarm Permit Basics
Alarm Systems Covered
Chapter 811 generally covers devices used to detect unauthorized entry or attempted entry, alert others to unlawful acts, or detect fire when activation causes notification directly or indirectly to public safety. The chapter excludes motor-vehicle alarms; systems designed so public safety is not notified until an occupant or agent checks the site and confirms qualifying criminal activity; occupant-only alarms, including qualifying residential audible-only alarms that stop within 15 minutes; and alarms on premises occupied by the United States, Indiana, or a political subdivision. The chapter also contains separate provisions for manual and automatic fire alarm systems and faulty fire or medical alarms.
Who Must Register
There is no alarm-user permit or registration. For monitored systems, the alarm business must report each monitored property's address and the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the person having control over the property to the alarm administrator.
Monitoring Rules
Before notifying IMPD of a non-fire alarm activation, a monitoring alarm business must first attempt to verify the activation by reaching the person having control over the property by telephone or other available means. After notifying IMPD, the business must immediately attempt to contact any other known person who may be able to verify the activation and update the agency if contact is made. Automatic fire alarms are governed separately and generally require immediate notification to the servicing fire department, except for supervised drills or periodic testing.
Registration & Renewal
Registration Timing
No alarm-user registration deadline applies. A monitoring alarm business must report a newly monitored system, cessation of monitoring, or a change in previously reported information within seven days.
Permit Validity
Not applicable. Current Chapter 811 has no alarm-user permit or registration term; the former alarm-system permit provisions were repealed in 1999.
Renewal Rules
No alarm-user renewal is required because Indianapolis does not issue an alarm-user permit or registration under current Chapter 811. Alarm businesses are subject to a separate annual business-license requirement.
Multiple System Rules
There is no separate alarm-user permit or per-system user permit fee. A monitoring alarm business's reporting duty applies to each alarm system it monitors in the city, including the site address and responsible-person contact information.
Transfer / Change Rules
There is no alarm-user permit to transfer. A monitoring alarm business must report changes in previously submitted monitored-system information within seven days. The separate alarm-business license is personal to its holder and is not transferable.
Alarm Company Requirements
Alarm Company Rules
An alarm business may not operate in Indianapolis without the separate city alarm-business license. Applications must include the owner or manager's identifying and address information and a telephone number at which IMPD can reach business personnel at any time. The license carries an annual fee under the city fee schedule and is nontransferable. Monitoring businesses must report monitored sites and changes within seven days, follow verification rules before non-fire dispatch requests, and provide customers with written alarm-system information approved by the alarm administrator before first monitoring the system.
False Alarms & Penalties
False Alarm Allowance
False alarms occurring within 30 days after an alarm system is first used are excluded from the annual false-alarm count. After that initial period, the first counted false alarm in a calendar year results in a written warning rather than a civil penalty.
False Alarm Penalties
For counted false alarms in a calendar year, the first results in a written warning. The second is $50, the third $75, the fourth $100, and the fifth $125. The sixth and each subsequent false alarm is $200 under the civil-penalty schedule; alternatively, a sixth or later violation may be referred to the city prosecutor, with a penalty of not less than $200. The count includes qualifying false alarms under both the general false-alarm rule and the faulty fire-alarm rule and resets by calendar year.
Unpermitted Alarm Penalty
Not applicable to alarm users because no alarm-user permit or registration is required. Operating an alarm business without the separate license required by Chapter 811 is unlawful, and citations for failure to obtain that business license are issued by the Department of Business and Neighborhood Services or its designee.
Dispatch & Appeals
Dispatch / Response Rules
For non-fire monitored alarms, the alarm business must attempt verification with the person controlling the property before notifying IMPD and must then attempt to contact another known person who may verify the activation. Devices that automatically send a prerecorded message or coded signal directly to law enforcement are prohibited, except for automatic fire alarm systems. For fire alarms, the servicing fire department generally must be notified upon activation, with exceptions for supervised drills or periodic testing.
Appeal Rules
Warnings and citations issued under the false-alarm provisions may be reviewed through an informal process when the recipient denies the violation. The recipient must be allowed to present documentary evidence and written statements, but an in-person hearing is not required. The citation or warning is then voided or affirmed; an affirmed citation is forwarded to the city prosecutor for further enforcement.
What Alarm Users Need to Know
Requirements
No alarm-user permit or registration application is required. A person who owns or controls property with an alarm system must comply with the false-alarm rules, and an externally sounding alarm must automatically silence within 15 minutes. Monitoring and reporting obligations are placed on alarm businesses.
Exemptions
No exemption from an alarm-user permit is needed because current Chapter 811 does not require one. For the chapter's regulatory scope, the definition of alarm system excludes motor-vehicle alarms, alarms that notify public safety only after an on-site check confirms qualifying criminal activity, occupant-only alarms including qualifying residential audible-only alarms that stop within 15 minutes, and alarms on premises occupied by the United States, Indiana, or a political subdivision.
Documents / Information
None for the ordinary property owner or alarm user because there is no user permit or registration application. A monitoring alarm business must separately report the monitored property's address and the name, mailing address, and telephone number of the person having control over the property.