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Phoenix Alarm Permit: Cost, False Alarm Fees and How to Register
In Phoenix, a home burglar or security alarm, monitored or not, needs a $17 Phoenix Police Department permit for each control panel, applied for within 10 days of installation and renewed for $17 a year (fire alarm permits come from the Fire Department). Your first false alarm in any 365 days is free; each one after that costs $96 ($105 for a fire alarm).[1,2]
Phoenix alarm permit at a glance
| Who needs a permit | Alarm systems at homes and businesses inside the City of Phoenix.[2] |
|---|---|
| Which alarms are covered | Any burglar, robbery, hold-up, panic or fire alarm, audible or silent, monitored or not. Car alarms are excluded, as are smoke detectors and fire alarms in single-family homes that are not connected to a monitoring company. Each control panel needs its own permit.[1] |
| Residential permit fee | New: $17 (per control panel) Renewal: $17 (per control panel) · valid 12 months[1,3] |
| Fee exemptions | No permit or renewal fee for a residential user on a fixed income at or below the federal poverty guidelines who lives there and runs no business there (proof required). County, state and federal government systems still need a permit but pay no fee. Two certificates can each replace one false-alarm fee if submitted on time (with a timely appeal or within 10 days of the decision notice, and within a year of issue): one from the city's $10 false alarm prevention class, and one for installing certified false-alarm-resistant equipment with proof submitted within 10 days.[1] |
| Free false alarms | Burglar alarms: 1; Fire alarms: 1 in any rolling 12 months[1] |
| If you have no permit | Not confirmed. The city code does not say police will refuse to respond to an alarm without a permit. After an alarm from a site without one, police send a warning to apply within 10 days; if you don't, each alarm while unpermitted costs $96 ($105 for fire).[1] |
| Runs the program | Phoenix Police Department, Alarm Unit (Public Records and Services); fire alarm permits come from the Phoenix Fire Department[1,2] |
| When to apply | Apply within 10 days of installing a new alarm. False alarms in the first 30 days are not counted only if, within 10 days of installation, you or your alarm company notify the city in writing, you have applied for the permit, and any final false-alarm fees are paid.[1] |
False alarm fees in Phoenix
False alarms are counted over any rolling 12 months[1]. Each fee below is charged per false alarm.
Residential burglar alarms (with a permit)
Residential fire alarms (with a permit)
If false alarms keep happening: Counts are of false alarms with a final fee assessment in 365 days. After the 7th, you and your alarm company must file a notice within 10 days confirming training and the fixes made. After the 10th, operating the alarm is unlawful until you file a training certificate, have the system inspected by a city alarm inspector, and pay a $200 inspection fee; three more false alarms after that inspection within 365 days make further operation unlawful. Operating the alarm is also unlawful while an assessed fee is unpaid 20 days after the final decision (unpaid fees accrue 1.5% a month).[1]
Charges without a permit
- $96 — charged per alarm activation while operating without a permit (after a warning and 10 days to apply). $105 per activation for fire alarms.[1]
How to get or renew a permit in Phoenix
- Apply or renew online at phoenix-gov.formstack.com[3].
- Questions: call the Phoenix Police Alarm Unit at 602-534-0322[3,2].
- Address: Phoenix Police Department Alarm Unit, P.O. Box 29122, Phoenix, AZ 85038 (checks or money orders payable to the City of Phoenix).[3]
- Give your permit number to your alarm monitoring company.
- Renew every year for $17. Fees are not refunded or prorated.[1]
Who files: The alarm user (subscriber) or the owner of a self-monitored system, not the alarm company. A tenant who installs or rents an alarm is the subscriber; for an alarm that came with a rental, the property owner is.[1]
Good to know
- Self-installed and self-monitored systems: Self-owned systems that no alarm company monitors (the code calls them "proprietor alarms") need a permit too.[1,2]
- Panic and hold-up alarms: Panic, hold-up and robbery alarms follow the same schedule as burglar alarms (one free false alarm in 365 days, then $96 each) and are exempt from the call-verification rule.[1]
- Before police are sent: Monitoring companies must use enhanced call verification (at least two calls to reach a responsible person) before asking for a police response, except for fire, hold-up, robbery, panic and duress alarms.[1]
- Not sure which rules apply to your address?: Not confirmed. The city's alarm pages do not include an address lookup. If you are not sure your address is inside Phoenix city limits, ask the Phoenix Police Alarm Unit at 602-534-0322.[3]
Business and other non-residential alarms
Avoiding false alarms
- Make sure everyone who has a code knows how to disarm the system and cancel an alarm.
- Keep your monitoring company's contact list up to date so they can reach someone quickly.
- Let your monitoring company know before guests, contractors or pet sitters use the house.
- Check that doors and windows are fully closed before you arm the system.
- Replace low sensor batteries promptly.
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SafeStreets serves this area: home security in Phoenix.
Sources
- City of Phoenix, Phoenix City Code Chapter 10, Article IX: Alarm Systems. Secs. 10-66, 10-67, 10-69, 10-76, 10-76.01, 10-78, 10-79, 10-86.01. phoenix.municipal.codes. Checked October 27, 2026.
- City of Phoenix Police Department, Preventing False Alarm Systems. Alarm ordinance summary and Alarm Unit contacts. www.phoenix.gov. Checked October 27, 2026.
- City of Phoenix Police Department Alarm Unit, Burglar & Fire Alarm Subscriber / Proprietor Permit Application (online form). Permit fee, payment and mailing address. phoenix-gov.formstack.com. Checked October 27, 2026.
Updates
- October 27, 2026 — first published from official sources.