Permits for Alarm Systems
The following is from the Harris County Sheriff's Office to homeowners concerning the need to obtain a permit for alarm systems installed in their homes.
You can download the PDF file by CLICKING HERE
In order to increase compliance and spread awareness, our office is requesting your assistance in informing residents in your community through your HOA newsletter or your scheduled HOA meetings of the need to obtain a permit for operating an alarm system, residential or business, within unincorporated Harris County.
Many residents and businesses are unaware of the requirement to obtain an alarm permit once an alarm system has been installed and activated by the alarm company. Alarm systems are established and defined in the Local Government Code 233 (subchapter D) as well as the authority to regulate, adopt rules and impose penalties for unpermitted locations. Obtaining the required permit will avoid the issuance of a citation and excessive false alarm fees. The fee for current permit issuance is $35 with a yearly renewal fee of $10. All permit fees are waived for senior citizens 65 years or older. Under current guidelines, a permitted location is allowed five (5) free false alarms annually. Any subsequent false alarms during your permitted year are subject to a $75 fine that is billed to the permit holder’s address. If a site has an active alarm system, yet does not have a permit to operate such alarm, a false alarm may result in a Class C citation which could range up to $500.
Should you or your residents require a copy of the permit application form, or would like to review the regulations regarding permit requirements, you may do so by visiting the Harris County Sheriff's Office website at www.hcso.hctx./net . The application can be printed from the website, then completed and mailed to our office with the applicable fees. We are currently in the planning stages of making the application and payment process available on-line for the convenience to the public. Should you have any questions, please contact the Harris County Sheriff's Office Alarm Detail at 713 755 4600 M-F, 8a- 5p. If you would like any of our Alarm Detail personnel to attend one of your HOA meetings, we would be glad to attend and answer as many questions as possible.
