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 |
Source: City of Dallas, Online Security Alarm Permit Registrations, as the City’s registration 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
- Mail: DPD Alarm Permit Compliance Unit, P.O. Box 840186, Dallas, TX 75284-0186
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.
Choose burglar or panic, residence or business, then add false alarms one at a time to see what the year costs.
No false alarms
$0
3 of 3 free left
| False alarm | Burglar(residence or business) | Panic or hold-up(residence) | Panic or hold-up(business) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
The counter shows the City’s published fees for one permitted site over one twelve-month period. It is an example, not a bill.
What the City’s page does not say. 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 response is cut off.
Source: City of Dallas, Online Security Alarm Permit Registrations, as the City’s registration page stood on 5 October 2026.
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 your absence, enforce Texas Penal Code section 30.05 against anyone not authorized to be there; officers may act as persons with apparent authority to act for the owner to notify anyone not authorized to be there that their entry is forbidden and that they must leave immediately or face possible arrest. Filing means completing the affidavit before a DPD officer, filling in an Authorization List of the people allowed on the property and when, returning the signed forms to the patrol division’s commander and posting “No Trespassing” signs. The affidavit lasts 2 years at most, or until ownership or the people on the list change.
- Who signs:The owner, the manager or the owner’s agent, who states in the affidavit that they have care, custody and control of the property.
- Authorization List:Each person allowed on the property, with their name, race, sex, date of birth, address, telephone number and the time or day they may be there. DPD’s form has ten rows; attach an additional list if you need more.
- Oath:A Dallas police officer administers the oath, under Code of Criminal Procedure article 2.12(3) and Government Code section 602.002(7). The affidavit must be completed in blue or black ink only.
- Returning the forms:Return the signed forms to the Division Commander, as the packet’s cover letter directs. The packet states no fee.
- Signs:Post “No Trespassing” or “No Trespassing between Designated Times” signs in prominent locations around the property, as the packet directs.
- Expiry and upkeep:The affidavit is effective from the date DPD receives and accepts it until two years have passed, ownership or the authorized people change, or it is revoked in writing, whichever comes first. DPD may also terminate the program and agreement at any time without notice or reason given. Tell DPD immediately any time the list, ownership or management changes. Give DPD an updated affidavit at least every 2 years, or whenever ownership, emergency contact telephone numbers or authorized persons change. Failure to update the list or return an updated agreement form may result in removal from the program.
The owner or manager is the person who files the criminal complaint against a trespasser, and the affidavit commits the signer or their designee to cooperate fully in the prosecution of anyone arrested under the program. 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.
Source: Dallas Police Department, Criminal Trespass Affidavit packet, 2021 revision, accessed 5 October 2026.
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. Between those checks, 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
An example night: the affidavit is on file, and nobody from the property is there after hours.
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 from the property is there to see who comes onto the lot, or to call it in.
Blinkless Live Remote Guarding
- A camera picks up a potential threat on the lot, and a trained Blinkless agent is alerted and goes live on your cameras.
- If the agent judges the person an intruder, the agent issues a live voice-down warning over your speakers and orders them to leave.
- We alert you in real time.
- We notify DPD when required, with the affidavit on file.
- You get the footage and an incident report.
When Someone Calls DPD
The City of Dallas says the program allows officers to make contact with individuals, issue a warning or make an arrest, and that a DPD officer “can issue a criminal trespass card or secure and charge an individual with criminal trespass if that person is a previous warning recipient and under arrest for another charge.” DPD’s packet says a person arrested for trespassing is charged with criminal trespass, and 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, Blinkless agents watching your cameras live can spot a trespasser in real time.
The permit fees and false-alarm charges are the City of Dallas’s, from its Online Security Alarm Permit Registrations page, accessed 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), accessed 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.
We assess your property remotely, from satellite imagery and the cameras already up, and send you a written security plan. No site visit required.
- Send the address and tell us about any cameras already up, and where they point. If there are none yet, that’s fine.
- We assess the property remotely, from satellite imagery and your existing cameras.
- You get your written security plan: which areas need monitoring and from where, when coverage is needed, how intruders and break-in attempts would be handled, and who receives security alerts. The plan is yours to keep, whether you hire Blinkless or not.
The address is enough to start.