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Fort Worth Alarm Permit: Cost, False Alarm Fees and How to Register
In Fort Worth you need a city alarm permit ($50 a year for a home) if you want police to respond to your alarm. Without one, police refuse to respond, except to duress, hold-up and panic alarms or a 911 call from someone other than the alarm company. You get three free false burglar alarms in 12 months; after that each costs $50 to $100.[1,2,3]
Fort Worth alarm permit at a glance
| Who needs a permit | Alarm sites in the City of Fort Worth where the user wants police to respond.[1,2] |
|---|---|
| Which alarms are covered | You need a permit if you operate an alarm system and want police to respond to it. The city page describes this as monitored systems; the code definition of an alarm system was not confirmed, so do not assume a self-monitored or audible-only system is excluded.[2,1] |
| Residential permit fee | New: $50 Renewal: $50 · valid 12 months[1,2] |
| Fee exemptions | No permit fee for a one- or two-family home the police chief determines is occupied by a low-income family. No senior exemption is listed.[2] |
| Free false alarms | Burglar alarms: 3; Panic and hold-up alarms: 2 in any rolling 12 months[1,3] |
| If you have no permit | Police will not respond to an alarm from a site without a valid permit, unless it is a duress, hold-up or panic alarm, or someone other than an alarm company calls 911.[2] |
| Runs the program | City of Fort Worth Development Services Department (permits issued on behalf of the police chief; billing by CentralSquare)[1] |
| When to apply | Before you rely on police response. Police refuse to respond to alarms from a site without a valid permit, except duress, hold-up and panic alarms and 911 calls from someone other than an alarm company.[2] |
False alarm fees in Fort Worth
False alarms are counted over any rolling 12 months[3]. Each fee below is charged per false alarm.
Residential burglar alarms (with a permit)
Residential panic and hold-up alarms (with a permit)
If false alarms keep happening: The chief must revoke a permit if the alarm has 8 or more false alarms in the preceding 12 months and the permit holder has not met the requirements of City Code Section 12-5, or if a service fee goes unpaid 30 days after notice, among other grounds. A new permit can be denied after 8 or more false alarms in the preceding 12 months. Operating an alarm while the permit is revoked is an offense.[4]
How to get or renew a permit in Fort Worth
- Apply or renew online at www.crywolfservices.com[1].
- Questions: call the city's alarm permit program (run by CentralSquare) at (833) 281-8742[1].
- Address: Fort Worth False Alarm Management Program, PO Box 208767, Dallas, TX 75320-8767 (run for the city by CentralSquare).[5]
- Give your permit number to your alarm monitoring company.
- Renew every year online or by mail.[1]
Who files: The permit holder who operates the alarm applies. Apartment tenants who want police response need their own permit.[1,2]
Good to know
- Self-installed and self-monitored systems: Not confirmed. The city does not address self-installed systems separately.
- Panic and hold-up alarms: Robbery and other manually triggered alarms: two free in 12 months, then $60 each.[3]
- Before police are sent: Before asking police to respond, the monitoring company must try to verify every alarm (except duress, hold-up and panic) by calling the home twice.[6]
- 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 Fort Worth city limits, ask the city's alarm program at 833-281-8742.[5]
- Nearby rules differ: City of Dallas has its own permit and fees. See Dallas alarm permit rules.
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 Fort Worth.
Sources
- City of Fort Worth, Commercial and Residential Security System Alarm Permits. Development Services — Alarms. www.fortworthtexas.gov. Checked October 27, 2026.
- City of Fort Worth (American Legal), Fort Worth City Code Sec. 12-2. Alarm permit required; fee; refusal of response; low-income waiver. codelibrary.amlegal.com. Checked October 27, 2026.
- City of Fort Worth (American Legal), Fort Worth City Code Sec. 12-16. Service fee. codelibrary.amlegal.com. Checked October 27, 2026.
- City of Fort Worth (American Legal), Fort Worth City Code Sec. 12-3. Grounds for denial of a permit/revocation. codelibrary.amlegal.com. Checked October 27, 2026.
- City of Fort Worth (CentralSquare CryWolf portal), Fort Worth False Alarm Management Program. Contact and mailing address. www.crywolfservices.com. Checked October 27, 2026.
- City of Fort Worth (American Legal), Fort Worth City Code Sec. 12-8. Monitoring procedures. codelibrary.amlegal.com. Checked October 27, 2026.
Updates
- October 27, 2026 — first published from official sources.