Alarm Permit in San Francisco, CA
Permit Summary
Alarm Permit Basics
Alarm Systems Covered
Article 37 covers hardwired, radio-frequency, cellular, private-radio, local audible, visual, and electronic alarm systems that indicate an alarm condition and are intended to summon law-enforcement response. Vehicle and personal alarms are generally excluded unless permanently located at a site, police-installed temporary alarm devices are excluded, and the Department of Emergency Management may exclude low-end local systems not intended to summon law enforcement. Fire alarms are not administered through this Treasurer & Tax Collector police alarm-license program.
Who Must Register
The alarm user is responsible for having a valid license. If the user has an alarm monitoring service, the monitoring company registers the license and collects the license fee; an installation company may also accept the initial application and fee. A user without an alarm installation or monitoring company submits the application and fee directly to the Tax Collector.
Monitoring Rules
A monitoring company must verify every alarm signal except panic, duress, or holdup signals before requesting law-enforcement response; use Department of Emergency Management-designated communication methods; communicate cancellations and available alarm-location information; provide the alarm user's license number with a dispatch request; and retain dispatch-request records for at least one year. For a new burglar-alarm installation, the monitoring company and user may agree to a seven-day acclimation period with no dispatch requests for burglar signals, excluding panic, duress, and holdup signals.
Registration & Renewal
Registration Timing
The initial fee is paid to the alarm installation company when the system is installed or to the monitoring company when the user contracts for monitoring. If the user has no installation or monitoring company, the fee must be submitted to the Tax Collector within five days after installation or takeover. The Treasurer & Tax Collector likewise directs unmonitored users to return the application within five days after installation.
Permit Validity
The Alarm License is valid for the calendar year and expires at 12:01 a.m. on January 1 each year.
Renewal Rules
The license must be renewed every year before expiration. Users who contract with an alarm company submit the renewal and fee through the company; self-monitored users renew directly with the Tax Collector. Monitoring companies must notify customers of the following year's renewal no later than November 1 and bill the license fee, with the bill due in no more than 30 days. Failure to renew is treated as use of a non-licensed alarm system.
Multiple System Rules
A separate Alarm License is required for each alarm site. Each unit in a multi-unit building or complex is a separate alarm site when served by a separate alarm system. Independently controlled alarm systems within the same premises are treated as separate alarm systems under Article 37.
Transfer / Change Rules
An Alarm License cannot be transferred to another person or alarm site. The alarm user must report any change to information on the license application to the Tax Collector within five business days. When changing alarm companies, the Treasurer & Tax Collector directs the user to inactivate the license with the old company and give the existing license number to the new company; no second current-year license fee is required when the alarm user and location remain the same.
Alarm Company Requirements
Alarm Company Rules
An installation company may not install, and a monitoring company may not service, a new customer without a current valid Alarm License, but the company may provide the application and accept the completed form and fee before starting service. Alarm companies must collect and remit license fees, keep records that cross-reference the user, alarm location, and license number, and state collected license fees separately on customer bills. Monitoring companies must provide the license number when requesting dispatch and follow the verification, cancellation, reporting, and record-retention rules in Police Code Section 3710.
False Alarms & Penalties
False Alarm Allowance
For a registered alarm system, the first false alarm in a calendar year has no penalty. A new burglar-alarm user and the alarm company may also agree to a seven-day acclimation period during which burglar signals do not generate dispatch requests; panic, duress, and holdup signals are excluded from that acclimation option.
False Alarm Penalties
For a registered alarm system in a calendar year, the first false alarm has no penalty; the second is $100; the third is $150 per alarm; the fourth is $200 per alarm; and the fifth and each later false alarm are $250 per alarm. If a cancellation reaches the Police Department before officers arrive, the Tax Collector may determine that the event will not count as a false alarm.
Unpermitted Alarm Penalty
Operating a non-licensed alarm system is subject to a $100 non-licensed-alarm penalty plus $250 for each false alarm, including the first false alarm in the calendar year. Police Code Section 3714 allows the Tax Collector to waive the first $100 non-licensed-system penalty if the user applies for a license or reinstatement within 10 days after notice of the violation. The Treasurer & Tax Collector also provides a waiver process when the user can prove timely payment of the registration fee to the alarm company.
Dispatch & Appeals
Dispatch / Response Rules
Before requesting police response, a monitoring company must verify every signal except panic, duress, or holdup signals and must provide the alarm user's license number to the Department of Emergency Management. Monitoring companies must promptly communicate cancellations. A cancellation received before police arrive may be excluded from the false-alarm count at the Tax Collector's discretion. Alarm users must make every reasonable effort to have a responder at the site within 45 minutes when requested by police.
Appeal Rules
An alarm user, installation company, or monitoring company may contest an alarm fee or penalty or a license revocation. A protest must be filed within 15 days after service of the assessment or revocation notice. Police Code Section 3716 permits a hearing by mail or an in-person administrative hearing and requires payment of the assessed fee with the protest. For a mail hearing, the Tax Collector must issue a decision within 30 days after receiving all requested information and evidence. The Treasurer & Tax Collector also provides an online Alarm Fee Penalty Waiver/Refund request process.
What Alarm Users Need to Know
Requirements
An alarm user must have a valid Alarm License before operating an alarm system, with a separate license for each alarm site. Monitored users register and pay through their alarm company; users without an alarm installation or monitoring company must submit the fee to the Tax Collector within five days after installation or takeover. Alarm users must maintain the system to minimize false alarms, keep written operating instructions at the site, make every reasonable effort to provide a responder within 45 minutes when requested by police, limit exterior audible alarms to 15 minutes, and not use automatic voice dialers.
Exemptions
The Treasurer & Tax Collector states that every alarm site in San Francisco must have an alarm license. Government land or buildings owned, rented, or leased by the federal government, California, a political subdivision or agency, or the City and County of San Francisco, including public schools, may be exempt from the registration fee. This police alarm-license program covers systems intended to summon law-enforcement response; the Treasurer & Tax Collector does not administer fire alarms. Vehicle and personal alarms are generally outside Article 37 unless permanently located at a site, subject to separate vehicle-alarm rules.
Documents / Information
The Alarm License Application & Renewal form requires residential or business subscriber information, alarm-site and mailing addresses, telephone and email information, business Federal ID for business subscribers, alarm installation and monitoring company information, the alarm start date, two emergency contacts, a signed declaration, and the applicable license fee.