Yes, if you want police to respond when your monitored alarm goes off. The City of Fort Worth requires property owners who install a monitored alarm system and want a police response to an alarm activation to hold an alarm permit issued by its Development Services Department: $50 a year for a residential security system and $100 a year for a commercial one.
| Property type | Annual permit fee |
|---|---|
| Residential security system | $50 |
| Commercial security system | $100 |
Source: City of Fort Worth, Commercial and Residential Security System Alarm Permits, the City’s page as it stood on 12 October 2026.
Register or Renew Your Permit
The City contracts CentralSquare Technologies (CST) to manage alarm permitting. Through CST, the City says, you can register or renew your alarm system, pay fees, update your account and view your false alarm incidents.
- Online: www.crywolfservices.com/fortworthtx
- Account questions by phone: (833) 281-8742
- Account questions by email: fortworthtx@alarm-billing.com
The City describes residential and typical commercial alarms as indirect reporting: the notification goes through an alarm company before it reaches the Police Department. The City also says the move to CST will not affect the Fort Worth Police Department’s response to calls for service.
Your Fort Worth alarm permit allows three false alarm calls and two panic or robbery calls before the City assesses service fees. Past that allowance in a 12-month period, the City’s list charges $50 a call for the 4th and 5th false alarms, $75 for the 6th and 7th, and $100 from the 8th. The City also warns that excessive false alarms may result in the revocation of your permit, which would end police response to unverified alarms at your address.
This counter shows an example year, not a bill. Add false alarm calls one at a time to see the fee for each call and the running total. At the 6th call it shows both fees the City’s page gives for it, one in its list and one in its own table.
| False alarm calls in 12 months | Fee per call |
|---|---|
| 1-3 | No charge |
| 4-5 | $50 |
| 6-7 | $75 |
| 8+ | $100 |
The City’s own table puts the 6th call at $50 as well.
A year of false alarms
Add one false alarm call at a time, or pick a number, to see the year add up.
The City’s page does not say how many false alarms count as excessive, or what makes an alarm verified. Ask the City or CentralSquare before you assume an answer to either.
Yes, if you enroll the property in FWPD’s Criminal Trespass Affidavit Program. Enrolling authorizes the department to remove or arrest persons found on the property when not authorized, according to FWPD’s program packet (a copy created in September 2023). The packet says a person arrested is charged with criminal trespass under Texas Penal Code Sec. 30.05, and you, as owner or manager, formally file the criminal complaint.
The packet says the property owner or the owner’s agent must complete four steps:
Trespass affidavit: Complete and sign the Criminal Trespass Affidavit and have it notarized. The business or commercial version authorizes FWPD to enter during non-business hours and ask anyone who is not a patron in the normal course of business, or is otherwise unauthorized, to leave immediately or face arrest. The residential and apartment complex version says officers may act as persons with apparent authority to act for the owner and tell anyone who is not a resident or a resident’s invited guest, or is otherwise unauthorized, to leave immediately or face possible arrest.
Complainant Data Sheet and lists: Complete the Complainant Data Sheet, the Authorization List and the additional address list, and attach the data sheet to the signed and notarized affidavit. The packet notes that the complainant is the person subpoenaed for court in the case of a trial and may use a business address and telephone number. The Authorization List gives the name, date of birth, allowed times and position of each person authorized to be on the property.
Filing address: Send the signed forms to FWPD Nuisance Abatement/EPCU, 5650 E. Lancaster Ave., Fort Worth, Texas 76112.
Signs: Post “No Trespassing” or “No Trespassing between Designated Times” signs in prominent locations around your property. The packet’s example signs read “All Hours,” “12:00am-6:00am Daily” and “Customers Only.”
According to the packet, the permission runs from FWPD’s acceptance until revoked in writing. The packet says your Authorization List expires at most one year after signing, or whenever a change is made and a new list is on file with FWPD. The packet requires you to keep a current Authorization List of who is authorized on the property during periods when no one else should be, update your emergency contact numbers annually, and notify FWPD immediately of any change of list, ownership or management. According to the packet, failing to update your Authorization List or return an updated Agreement form may result in removal from the program, and FWPD may terminate the program at any time without notice or reason given.
Because the packet is a 2023 copy, we recommend confirming the current forms with FWPD Nuisance Abatement/EPCU before you file.
Filing the affidavit does not put an officer on your property at night. FWPD’s packet says officers check an enrolled property during normal patrol or on a call there, as time and resources allow, and that this does not mean an officer will be available to check it on a regular basis. Between those checks, someone still has to see a trespasser while they are on the property.
Who May Give a Trespass Notice
The City Manager’s 2019 Informal Report to the City Council says any person the owner designates, including property managers, employees and security guards, can give a trespass notice, and can issue the warning without an officer present or call officers to witness it. The report says a police officer could legally be designated as the owner’s agent, but that has not been the recommended option, because the owner’s own employees and agents are in a much better position to know who has consent to be on the property. The report adds that criminal trespass is generally a Class B misdemeanor, with some exceptions. It does not mention warnings given remotely.
After-Hours Remote Guarding
When a potential threat shows on your cameras after hours, a trained Blinkless agent is alerted immediately and goes live on your video feed. If the agent judges the person a trespasser or a threat, we order them to leave with a live voice-down over your speakers and notify authorities when required.
One Night, Two Ways
This example assumes nobody from the property is on site. It does not predict when police would arrive, how they would prioritize the call or how it would end.
Affidavit and Signs
- Your affidavit is on file with FWPD and No Trespassing signs are posted.
- An officer may check the property as time and resources allow.
- If no officer happens to check while the person is there, nobody from the property sees them.
Blinkless Live Remote Guarding
- Activity on your cameras brings a trained agent onto the live feed.
- If the agent judges the person a trespasser or a threat, we order them to leave with a live voice-down.
- We notify authorities when required and send you instant alerts with footage.
The City’s 2019 report says that if police are contacted and an officer arrives while the person is still there, the officer completes a Criminal Trespass Warning Card and an incident report, so officers can arrest the person if they are found on the property again.
- Alarm permits, false-alarm fees, revocation and the camera registry: City of Fort Worth, Development Services, “Commercial and Residential Security System Alarm Permits”, https://www.fortworthtexas.gov/departments/development-services/permits/alarms, the page as it stood on 12 October 2026
- Trespass affidavit steps and patrol checks: Fort Worth Police Department, Criminal Trespass Affidavit Program packet, copy created September 2023 on a third-party host, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5de815ce859b097a59936f79/t/6746095d2b9af46096f4b5bd/1732643165548/Blank+CTW+Affidavit.pdf, accessed 12 October 2026
- Who may give a trespass notice: City of Fort Worth, City Manager’s Informal Report to the City Council on criminal trespass and apparent authority, 2019, https://fortworthgov.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=3196&meta_id=364850, accessed 12 October 2026
Fees and forms can change after these dates, so confirm a figure or form with the City, CST or FWPD Nuisance Abatement/EPCU before you rely on it.
This page is general information, not legal advice.
To compare Fort Worth with other cities, see Alarm Permit and False-Alarm Fees by City and Trespass Affidavits and Letters of Agency by City.
Tell us which Fort Worth property you want watched after hours, and you get a written security plan for it. The plan is yours to keep, whether you hire Blinkless or not.
Getting your security plan takes three steps:
- Your property: Fill out the form, and we will be in touch shortly.
- Our assessment: We assess the property remotely over satellite imagery and your existing cameras, with no site visit: as we put it, we can do everything over Google Earth. In most cases, we can integrate with the cameras you already have.
- Your security plan: It sets out what needs monitoring and when, how intruders and break-in attempts would be handled, and who gets alerted. Our agents order intruders to leave with a live voice-down, not a recording.
Separately, the Fort Worth Police Department asks residents and business owners to register their privately owned surveillance camera systems, according to the City of Fort Worth’s alarm permits page. The City says owners are contacted only if there is a criminal incident near their camera, and police may ask to view footage for an investigation.