Permits

PERMITS

Residental Alarm & Fire Permits

A home alarm permit is mandatory for residents of many major cities and counties, mainly to address the issue of false alarms. Many of the laws date back a decade or more, when home security systems and monitoring services were less sophisticated and homeowners less familiar with them.

Alarm permits were introduced as a way to reduce the number of false alarms, and the unnecessary distraction and expense they caused police and fire departments.

Some localities have a single alarm permit, regardless of the type of alarm, while others make a distinction between fire, police or combined fire and police alarm permits. For example, if you only have a monitored smoke detector, you may only need the fire alarm permit. If you have a complete monitored security system (including smoke detectors), you may need a single permit that covers everything, or separate fire and police alarm permits if there is no combined option.