Re: Free Alarm Monitoring

["Robert L Bass" <robertbass1@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Yep..same here permit required in
> most cities, monitored & local alarm
> systems.

This varies somewhat from place to place.  In CT where I worked for 24 years most towns required a permit for wired installations.
We mainly did wired systems so we pulled permits.  A few towns did not require a permit though.  The interesting thing was the
reaction from electrical inspectors while submitting the permit application.  They were often surprised that I bothered because most
alarm companies didn't pull permits on a residential installation unless it was new construction.

It's the same with homeowners doing DIY jobs.  If it's not new construction most never pull a permit.  Where there's an alarm
licensing rule in effect, usually you must pull a permit and these laws are starting to proliferate due to the deluge of false
alarms.  Note: The vast majority of false alarms come from professionally installed systems because the vast majority of systems are
professionally installed.  To the best of my knowledge no one keeps track of how many systems are professionally installed versus
DIY.

Some towns require an alarm permit (different from an electrical installation permit) only if the alarm is monitored.  Others
require that all audible or silent alarms have a permit.  Note 2: I'm using the term, "permit" interchangeably with "license" though
the two are distinct.  Technically, you get a permit to do the installation and/or a license to use the alarm.

In virtually every place in the country (except St Louis County, Mo), you do not need a trade license to install a burglar alarm
system in your own home or business.  The same is true of commercial fire alarms with certain exceptions.  If it's a place of public
assembly, some communities require a licensed tech do the fire alarm.  Likewise, a professional engineer or a licensed fire alarm
technician may be required to perform routine inspections of a commercial fire alarm in many locations.  But for the typical
residential installation, including combined burglary / fire alarm systems, no license is required to DIY the installation.  Where
an alarm *use* license is required, this also does not require a license -- only some paperwork and usually a small, annual fee.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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