Alarm Permit in Phoenix, AZ
Permit Summary
Alarm Permit Basics
Alarm Systems Covered
Phoenix's alarm program covers monitored and unmonitored/proprietor alarm systems within the scope of City Code Article IX, including audible and silent burglar, robbery, holdup, panic, and fire alarms. The City states that a permit is required for alarm systems monitored by an alarm company as well as those that are not, subject to the Article's stated exclusions.
Who Must Register
Every alarm subscriber and proprietor alarm owner must obtain the applicable permit. A tenant who installs, purchases, or rents an alarm system in an apartment or other rental property is treated as the alarm subscriber; where an existing alarm system belongs with the rental property, the owner is treated as the subscriber. Fire-alarm permits are obtained from the Fire Department and all other alarm subscriber permits from the Police Department.
Monitoring Rules
For monitored systems, the central receiving station must attempt to contact the alarmed location before requesting Police or Fire response, except for holdup, robbery, panic, or duress activations. Enhanced call verification—at least two calls to different telephone numbers—is required before dispatch requests for alarm signals other than fire, holdup, robbery, panic, or duress. Monitoring stations must not send non-critical supervisory, trouble, freezer, temperature, or similar mechanical/electrical signals to the Police Department, and must be able to identify the alarm type, location, permit number, activated zone or sensor, and responsible-party response information.
Registration & Renewal
Registration Timing
The subscriber or proprietor owner must apply for the permit within 10 days of installation of a new alarm system. An alarm business and subscriber must also complete the City of Phoenix Alarm Information Form, which the alarm business must submit to the Police Department, or Fire Department for fire systems, within 10 days after alarm service begins.
Permit Validity
An alarm subscriber permit is valid for one year. It must be kept at the protected premises and be available for inspection by the Police or Fire Department.
Renewal Rules
The permit may be renewed for additional one-year periods by application and payment of a $17 annual renewal fee per system. Phoenix provides no refund or proration of the permit or renewal fee. The fixed-limited-income residential fee waiver and government-system no-fee rule also apply to renewal fees when their conditions are met.
Multiple System Rules
A separate permit is required for each address, and each control panel is treated as a separate alarm system requiring its own permit and $17 fee. If multiple alarm systems are at one location, each system requires a separate permit and fee. Each apartment unit is treated as a separate address, while an apartment complex's common areas or offices are treated as one address.
Transfer / Change Rules
Alarm subscriber permits are not transferable from one subscriber or proprietor to another or from one address to another. A change that creates a new subscriber/proprietor or alarm address therefore requires the applicable new permit. An alarm business that stops leasing, renting, maintaining, servicing, or monitoring a system must give written notice to the Police Department, or Fire Department for a fire system, within 10 days after its responsibility ends.
Alarm Company Requirements
Alarm Company Rules
Phoenix requires alarm businesses to provide subscribers with alarm-system operating instructions, a copy of the alarm ordinance, a subscriber/proprietor permit application, and false-alarm-prevention materials. The alarm business and subscriber must complete and sign the City's Alarm Information Form, and the business must submit it within 10 days after service begins. For monitored systems, the business must follow the verification rules, keep specified subscriber and activation records, arrange for a responsible representative to reach an activated premises within 30 minutes, and notify the subscriber of monitored activations as required by the code.
False Alarms & Penalties
False Alarm Allowance
The first false alarm within a consecutive 365-day period results in a warning; service-fee assessments begin with the second false alarm. Newly installed or qualifying reinstalled systems receive a 30-day grace period from false-alarm counting and assessment if the required written notice is provided within 10 days, the subscriber has applied for the alarm permit, and final fees are paid. Phoenix's false-alarm prevention program can also provide a certificate that may be used in lieu of one false-alarm service-fee assessment when submitted under the code's timing rules.
False Alarm Penalties
For the second and each subsequent false alarm within a consecutive 365-day period, Phoenix assesses $96 per false alarm for non-fire alarm systems and $105 per false alarm for fire alarm systems. After final determination, assessed service fees are due within 20 days; an unpaid balance accrues 1.5% interest per month, compounded monthly, and continued operation can become unlawful. A seventh false alarm triggers additional training/prevention documentation. At the tenth false alarm, operation is prohibited until required training documentation is filed, the system is inspected by a City alarm inspector, and the $200 inspection fee is paid; three further false alarms after that inspection can make continued operation unlawful.
Unpermitted Alarm Penalty
When Phoenix records an alarm activation from a system without the required subscriber permit, the City sends a warning directing the subscriber or proprietor owner to obtain the permit within 10 days. If the permit is not obtained as required, the City may assess $105 per fire-alarm activation and $96 per activation for all other alarm systems while the system remains unpermitted. The assessment is due within 20 days after final determination and unpaid balances accrue 1.5% per month, compounded monthly.
Dispatch & Appeals
Dispatch / Response Rules
For monitored alarms, the alarm business must perform the applicable contact and enhanced-call-verification steps before requesting Police or Fire dispatch, with stated exceptions for fire, holdup, robbery, panic, and duress alarms. The alarm business must arrange for the subscriber, an alarm agent, or another responsible representative to reach the premises within 30 minutes after activation. Phoenix also prohibits automatic dialing devices that send prerecorded messages or signals directly to City public-safety or emergency-service lines, subject to the code's life-safety-system exception.
Appeal Rules
A subscriber, proprietor owner, or other notified party may contest a false-alarm or unpermitted-alarm assessment by filing a petition with the Director of the Police Department or designee within 20 days of the mailing of the initial assessment notice. If the Director upholds the assessment, an aggrieved party may, within 10 days after receiving the decision, file a notice of appeal with the hearing officer designated by the City Manager. The hearing is informal, the appellant bears the burden of proof, and the hearing officer's decision is final.
What Alarm Users Need to Know
Requirements
Apply for and receive an alarm subscriber permit within 10 days after installation of a new alarm system. Fire-alarm permits are administered by the Phoenix Fire Department; all other alarm subscriber permits are administered by the Phoenix Police Department. Keep the permit at the protected premises, maintain the system in good working order, and arrange for a responsible person to respond to an activation within 30 minutes.
Exemptions
Phoenix City Code Article IX does not apply to audible alarms affixed to motor vehicles; smoke detectors or fire alarms in single-family residences that are not connected to an alarm monitoring company; telephone call diverters; or systems designed only to report environmental or other occurrences and not to alert public-safety personnel. Government-operated systems on government premises are generally outside the Article, but Section 10-86.01(C) still requires a permit for each such system; those permits are issued without permit or renewal fees.
Documents / Information
The application requests the residence or business name, alarmed-location address, contact and mailing information, owner information if different, control-panel/alarm types, installation date, alarm installation/service and monitoring-company information, at least two responsible representatives who can respond within 30 minutes, and the applicant's signature and date. A qualifying fixed-limited-income residential applicant seeking the fee waiver must also submit documentation verifying income.