The Dallas alarm permit your property needs
Does my Dallas property’s alarm need a permit for police to respond, what does it cost, and where do I get it?
Yes. The City of Dallas requires a security alarm permit for any alarm that is audible or monitored to get a police response. It costs $50 a year for a residence and $100 a year for a business, and you register and pay online at dallasalarmpermit.com, by phone on 855-809-2058, or by mail to DPD’s Alarm Permit Compliance Unit.
| Property | Permit, per year |
|---|---|
| Residence | $50 |
| Business | $100 |
City of Dallas, Online Security Alarm Permit Registrations, as the page stood on 5 October 2026.
Three ways to register and pay
- Online
- dallasalarmpermit.com, run for the Dallas Police Department by Central Square Technologies (formerly Crywolf)
- Phone
- 855-809-2058
- DPD Alarm Permit Compliance Unit,P.O. Box 840186,Dallas, TX 75284-0186
What a year of false alarms costs in Dallas
How many false alarms are free in Dallas, and what does each one after that cost?
A permitted Dallas alarm site gets three free false burglar alarms in twelve months. The 4th to 6th cost $50 each, the 7th and 8th $75, and every one from the 9th $100. Panic or hold-up false alarms are billed from the first: $100 each at a residence, and $100, $200, $300 and then $400 each at a business.
| False alarm | Burglarresidence or business | Panic or hold-upresidence | Panic or hold-upbusiness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Free | $100 | $100 |
| 2nd | Free | $100 | $200 |
| 3rd | Free | $100 | $300 |
| 4th | $50 | $100 | $400 |
| 5th | $50 | $100 | $400 |
| 6th | $50 | $100 | $400 |
| 7th | $75 | $100 | $400 |
| 8th | $75 | $100 | $400 |
| 9th | $100 | $100 | $400 |
| No false alarms | $03 of 3 free left | $0Billed from the first | $0Billed from the first |
Each false burglar alarm from the 9th on is $100. At a business, each false panic or hold-up alarm from the 4th on is $400; at a residence, every one is $100. The City’s page names no free panic alarm.
Two rules the City’s page leaves out. The City’s registration page, as we read it on 5 October 2026, does not state what an alarm without a permit is charged, or after how many false alarms police stop responding.
Charges: City of Dallas, Online Security Alarm Permit Registrations, as the page stood on 5 October 2026.
Filing DPD’s Criminal Trespass Affidavit
Can Dallas police remove trespassers when nobody from the property is there, and what does signing up take?
Yes, if the property is enrolled in DPD’s Criminal Trespass Affidavit program. With the affidavit on file, DPD may enter the property and, in the owner’s absence, enforce Texas Penal Code section 30.05 against anyone not authorized to be there; officers act as persons with apparent authority to act for the owner. Filing has four parts: the affidavit, sworn before a DPD officer; an Authorization List of up to ten people with their permitted hours; the forms returned to the patrol division’s commander; and posted “No Trespassing” signs. It lasts at most two years, or until ownership or the list changes.
- Who signs. The owner, the manager or the owner’s agent, who states that they have care, custody and control of the property.
- The Authorization List. Up to 10 named people allowed on the property, with the times of day each may be there.
- The oath, before a DPD officer. A Dallas police officer administers it, under Code of Criminal Procedure article 2.12(3) and Government Code section 602.002(7), so no outside notary is needed. Blue or black ink only.
- Where the forms go. Return the signed forms to the commander of the patrol division that covers the property. The packet states no fee.
- The signs. “No Trespassing” or “No Trespassing between Designated Times” signs, in prominent locations around the property.
- When it lapses. After 2 years at most, or sooner when ownership or the people on the list change, or when it is revoked in writing.
The owner or manager is the person who files the criminal complaint against a trespasser. Dallas’s entry in our trespass enforcement database quotes the packet and sets the program beside other US cities’. This is general information, not legal advice.
Terms: Dallas Police Department, Criminal Trespass Affidavit packet, 2021 revision, read 5 October 2026.
The affidavit is not a patrol
Once the affidavit is on file, will officers actually be watching my property at night?
Not necessarily. DPD’s own affidavit packet says officers check an enrolled property during normal patrol or when answering a call there, and tells the owner plainly that enrolling does not mean an officer will check it regularly. The affidavit lets officers act when someone sees a trespasser and calls it in. It does not supply that someone.
“Please understand that this does not mean that an officer will be available to check your property on a regular basis. Rather, officers will check the property as time and resources allow.”
One night at a Dallas property, two ways
The affidavit on file, and the patrol
- The affidavit is on file with DPD, with an after-hours contact number on it.
- Nobody from the property is there.
- An officer checks the property during normal patrol or on a call there, as time and resources allow.
- Between checks, nobody is there to see who comes onto the lot, or to call it in.
Someone watching the cameras
- An operator sees someone on the lot on live video.
- The operator speaks to them over the property’s speakers.
- The people your plan names are told while it’s happening.
- DPD is called, with the affidavit on file.
- The footage and an incident report follow.
When someone does call
Officers can warn a trespasser with a criminal trespass card, and someone found on the property again after a warning can be charged. The owner or manager files the criminal complaint. In 2015, the City reported 2,453 affidavits on file and nearly 500 criminal trespass arrests across DPD’s 14 districts (City of Dallas, “City Council looks at DPD Criminal Trespass Affidavit Program”, 2015 figures).
At 2 a.m., with nobody from the property there, a live operator watching the cameras is one way someone sees the trespasser while it’s happening.
Free · no site visit
A free remote assessment of your Dallas property
We assess the property from satellite imagery and the cameras already up, so nobody needs to come out, and send you a written plan: what gets watched, from where and when, what happens when someone is seen, and who is told.
- Send the address and your camera list. The cameras already up, and where they point.
- We look at it remotely. From satellite imagery and your list.
- You get the written plan. The places and hours to watch, what happens when someone is seen, and who is told.
Request the assessment
The address and the cameras already up are enough to start.
Where these figures come from
The permit fees and false-alarm charges are the City of Dallas’s, from its Online Security Alarm Permit Registrations page as it stood on 5 October 2026. The affidavit terms and DPD’s words on patrol checks are from the Dallas Police Department’s Criminal Trespass Affidavit packet (2021 revision), read the same day. The program count is from the City’s report on the program and is for 2015.
Dallas’s entries in our US alarm permit database and trespass enforcement database set the same rules beside other US cities’.
Ordinances and forms change, and the City’s own text governs. If you find a figure out of date, tell us and we will correct it. This page is general information, not legal advice.