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New Orleans Alarm Permit: Cost, False Alarm Fees and How to Register
Every home and business burglar or panic alarm in New Orleans must be registered with NOPD's False Alarm Reduction Program each year, and registration is free. Your first false alarm each calendar year isn't fined; the second costs $75 and the third and fourth $150 each. After the fourth, police response can be suspended (starting 15 business days after the notice unless you appeal), and false alarms while suspended cost $200 each. The yearly count resets only if all fines and fees are paid.[1,2,3]
New Orleans alarm permit at a glance
| Who needs a permit | All of Orleans Parish (the City of New Orleans), homes and businesses.[2] |
|---|---|
| Which alarms are covered | Every burglar (intrusion) or hold-up/panic alarm at a home or business, monitored or not. Not covered: car and boat alarms, fire alarms, domestic-violence alarms and medical alarms.[2,1,3] |
| Residential permit fee | New: Free Renewal: Free (yearly re-registration) · valid 12 months[1,3] |
| Other permit charges | Reinstatement: $100 (a $100 fine paid with written proof of corrective action, at a hearing, to restore police response after a suspension)[1] |
| Fee exemptions | Registration is free. Alarms at federal, state and City of New Orleans government buildings aren't fined. A burglar-alarm dispatch canceled before police arrive isn't counted as a false alarm. Severe weather, power outages, transmission-line problems, acts of God and other causes clearly beyond your control may be considered when deciding whether an alarm was false. The alarm administrator may let you take an alarm user awareness class instead of paying one fine of up to $75, or may waive one $75 fine if your monitoring company documents extra training and an equipment check; you can get one of these credits a calendar year, not both.[1] |
| Free false alarms | 1 in each calendar year (the count resets in January only if all fines and fees are paid)[1] |
| If you have no permit | The program says police response can be suspended if you don't register your alarm or don't pay fees and fines.[3] |
| Runs the program | New Orleans Police Department, False Alarm Reduction Program (alarm administrator)[1] |
| When to apply | When a new alarm is installed (or an existing system is taken over), the alarm company must submit the registration within 10 business days. After that, the user re-registers every year.[1] |
False alarm fees in New Orleans
False alarms are counted over each calendar year (the count resets in January only if all fines and fees are paid)[1]. Each fee below is charged per false alarm.
Residential false alarms (with a permit)
| False alarm | Fee |
|---|---|
| 1st | Free[1] |
| 2nd | $75[1] |
| 3rd–4th | $150[1] |
| 5th and each after | $200 each false alarm while police response is suspended. A suspension can follow the 4th false alarm and starts 15 business days after you receive the notice unless you appeal.[1] |
If false alarms keep happening: After the 4th false alarm in a calendar year (or if you don't return the alarm user identification letter within 15 business days of the first false-alarm notice), police stop responding to the alarm unless the superintendent approves, though police may still use discretion to send officers. The suspension starts 15 business days after you receive the notice unless you appeal in writing. False alarms during a suspension cost $200 each. To get response back, you show written proof of corrective action at a hearing (repairs, equipment changes, and possibly a false-alarm class) and pay a $100 fine; the program's FAQ also says you must take and pass an alarm user awareness class.[1,3]
How to get or renew a permit in New Orleans
- Apply or renew online at www.crywolfservices.com[3].
- Questions: call the NOPD False Alarm Reduction Program at 1-855-905-0614[4,3].
- Address: Registration is online or by phone. The program's mailing address (billing) is PO Box 840101, Dallas, TX 75284-0101.[4]
- Give your permit number to your alarm monitoring company.
- Register again every year, free. The program sends a notice before your renewal date.[1,3]
Who files: The alarm system user (the owner, tenant or whoever controls the property) registers every year. For a new installation or a takeover of an existing system, the alarm company must submit the registration. In apartment complexes and multi-use commercial buildings, a tenant who installs an alarm is responsible for its false alarms; if the owner or property manager supplies the alarms as an amenity, the owner or manager is responsible for false alarms from all units together.[1]
Good to know
- Self-installed and self-monitored systems: There's no separate rule for self-installed or self-monitored systems. The code covers any alarm meant to signal a break-in or other crime that police are asked to respond to, including local alarms that sound or flash outside the building, so plan on registering. An alert that only notifies you and never leads to a request for police isn't clearly covered.[1,2]
- Panic and hold-up alarms: Hold-up and panic alarms are covered by the same registration and fines. You may use one to call police only for a break-in, robbery or other crime on the premises, or when someone needs immediate help to avoid injury; unnecessary panic or hold-up dispatches count as false alarms. Monitoring companies don't have to verify them before calling police.[1]
- Before police are sent: Police still respond to alarms, but for burglar alarms (not hold-up or panic alarms) the monitoring company must first use a verification method: a call or other audio attempt to the site or user, video that shows activity needing police, an independent confirmation by the user or someone at the premises, or another method the superintendent approves. If a phone attempt doesn't reach someone who can properly identify themselves, a second attempt to a different number is required.[1]
- Not sure which rules apply to your address?: Not confirmed. We didn't find a public address lookup. The registration portal checks your address when you sign up; New Orleans and Orleans Parish share the same boundary.[4]
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.
Thinking about a professionally installed, monitored system? See how SafeStreets installation works.
SafeStreets serves this area: home security in New Orleans.
Sources
- City of New Orleans (via Municode), New Orleans Code of Ordinances Ch. 27: Burglary and Robbery Alarm Systems, False Alarm Reduction. Secs. 27-2 to 27-10. library.municode.com. Checked October 28, 2026.
- City of New Orleans / New Orleans Police Department, Register Your Alarm. Current policy guidelines. nola.gov. Checked October 28, 2026.
- NOPD False Alarm Reduction Program (CryWolf), New Orleans False Alarm Reduction Program: Frequently Asked Questions. Registration, renewal, suspension. www.crywolfservices.com. Checked October 28, 2026.
- NOPD False Alarm Reduction Program (CryWolf, linked from nola.gov), New Orleans False Alarm Reduction Program portal. Registration; program contact. www.crywolfservices.com. Checked October 28, 2026.
Updates
- October 28, 2026 — first published from official sources.