Dallas alarm permit and false alarm fees
Dallas keeps its $50 band through the sixth false burglar alarm. A site reaches the $100 tier one alarm later than a site in Plano or Arlington. Panic and hold-up alarms have a separate count, with business fees reaching $400.
Checked against the city's published material on 14 September 2026. Ordinances change. Confirm anything you are about to act on with the city.
What it costs
| Annual permit, commercial | $100 |
|---|---|
| Annual permit, residential | $50 |
| Free burglar alarms, 12 months | 3 |
| 4th to 6th false burglar alarm | $50 |
| 7th and 8th false burglar alarm | $75 |
| 9th and every one after false burglar alarm | $100 |
Calculate false burglar alarm costs.
The part that catches people
No permit, no response. The Chief of Police shall refuse police response to an alarm notification from a site without a valid permit, unless the call is a duress, hold-up or panic alarm, or somebody other than the alarm company reported it to 9-1-1.
Operating without a permit. A conviction carries a fine of $200 to $500 the first time and $250 to $500 each time after that, under Sec. 15C-16(b).
Panic and hold-up alarms. These run on their own count. A residence pays $100 for every false one. A business pays $100 for the first, $200 for the second, $300 for the third and $400 for each one after that.
How this compares
Most cities in this comparison charge $50, then $75, then $100 for false burglar alarms. Grand Prairie charges $50 from the fourth through the tenth and lists suspension at the eleventh. Permit fees, separate alarm counts and response rules need their own check.
Compare all eleven Texas cities side by side.
Source
Dallas City Code Chapter 15C, Security Alarm Systems (Secs. 15C-2, 15C-16), and the Dallas Police Department alarm information page. Primary source. Dallas Police Alarm Unit.
City of Dallas Security Alarm Permit Application, permit fee schedule.
City of Dallas Special Collections registrations, panic and hold-up fees.
Dallas City Code Sec. 15C-2, response rules.
Dallas City Code Sec. 15C-16, conviction fines.
Nearby cities
- Plano charges $200 for a false robbery alarm past the second
- Irving can revoke an alarm permit
- Garland charges $150 per false fire alarm past the second
Recurring false alarms need a closer look. Start with the call list, the monitoring contract and the panel settings. Our alarm ordinance and nuisance alarm review traces which of the three is doing it. We do not install, service or monitor anything.