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Do You Need an Alarm Permit in Boston? False Alarm Fees and Rules
Boston doesn't require an alarm permit, but your monitoring company (or you, if the alarm isn't monitored) must give the police your contact details. False alarms are free twice a calendar year; then $50 for the third, $100 for the fourth and $200 for the fifth, and from the sixth it's $200 a day until the cause is fixed.[1]
Boston alarm rules at a glance
| Where these rules apply | No one: Boston has no alarm permit. Instead, alarm companies (or you, if your alarm isn't monitored) give the Police Commissioner your contact details for the Alarm Information List, and false-alarm fines apply in the city.[1] |
|---|---|
| Which alarms are covered | No permit. Monitoring companies must send the police your contact details and two 24-hour contacts for the Alarm Information List; if your alarm isn't monitored, you provide them yourself when the Commissioner sends a notice. Details must be kept up to date (a $50 fine if not). The false-alarm rules cover any device that warns of someone entering without authorization.[1] |
| Fee exemptions | Not confirmed. The code lists no exemptions or waivers for false-alarm fines. You must tell the Police Commissioner before testing your alarm equipment; an unannounced test counts as a false alarm. A fine can be appealed in writing, and the appeal must reach the Commissioner within 10 days after the notice was sent (not 10 days after you receive it).[1] |
| Free false alarms | 2 in each calendar year[1] |
| Runs the program | Boston Police Department (Police Commissioner)[1] |
| When to apply | Not confirmed. There's no deadline after installation. Monitoring companies, and owners of unmonitored alarms, have 60 days after the Commissioner's notice to supply the information, or face $50 a day.[1] |
False alarm fees in Boston
False alarms are counted over each calendar year[1]. Each fee below is charged per false alarm, except rows marked per day, which are charged for each day until the cause is fixed.
Residential false alarms
| False alarm | Fee |
|---|---|
| 1st–2nd | Free[1] |
| 3rd | $50[1] |
| 4th | $100[1] |
| 5th | $200[1] |
| 6th and each after | $200 per day: each day after the false alarm counts as a new violation until you show the Commissioner the cause is fixed[1] |
If false alarms keep happening: From the 6th false alarm in a calendar year, the fine is $200 a day until you show the Police Commissioner the cause is fixed. Unpaid fines become a lien on the property.[1]
Good to know
- Who files: Your monitoring company files your Alarm Information List details; if your alarm is not monitored, you do.[1]
- Self-installed and self-monitored systems: If your alarm isn't connected to a monitoring company, you provide your own Alarm Information List details (within 60 days of a notice from the Commissioner), and false alarms are fined the same way.[1]
- Panic and hold-up alarms: Not confirmed. Boston's code defines alarms by unauthorized entry and says nothing separately about panic or hold-up alarms.
- Before police are sent: Not confirmed. Boston's alarm code sets no call-verification rule for monitoring companies.
- Not sure which rules apply to your address?: Not confirmed. Boston's alarm rules cover alarms reporting to the Boston Police Department; the code has no address lookup.
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 Boston.
Sources
- City of Boston (via American Legal Publishing), Boston Municipal Code Ch. XI, Sec. 11-2: Security Alarm Systems — CBC 1985; Ord. 1992 c. 11. Secs. 11-2.1 to 11-2.12. codelibrary.amlegal.com. Checked October 28, 2026.
Updates
- October 28, 2026 — first published from official sources.