Frequently Asked Questions

False alarms are very costly and take police officers away from responding to actual emergency situations. On January 16, 2008, Pleasant Hill enacted Ordinance 9.20.  This ordinance requires Pleasant Hill private property owners and business owners with alarm systems to obtain and maintain an annual permit and reimburse the City for excessive false alarm activity.

Yes, they are. Across the nation, the growth of alarm system ownership has resulted in a tremendous amount of false alarms. The response to false alarms has created an additional burden on our law enforcement agencies. Nationwide, approximately 99% or more of all the burglar alarms police respond on are false.

False alarm means an alarm dispatch request to the police department when the situation or activation of the alarm system does not require a police response or when the responding officer finds no evidence of a criminal offense or attempted criminal offense after having completed a standard investigation of the alarm site.

All permits are valid from January 1st - December 31st. The annual renewal fee is $41.00. The cost to register a new alarm permit is prorated by month, and the fees are as follows: 

Alarm permits must be renewed every year by January 15th. All permits expire on December 31st. You will receive a letter and invoice mailed to the address on file thirty days before the permit is set to expire. The cost to renew your permit is $41. 

If you have an alarm system, you are required under Pleasant Hill Ordinance 9.20 to have an alarm permit. If you have multiple monitored alarm systems, a permit is required for each alarm.

An Alarm System includes, but is not limited to, hardwired systems and systems interconnected by radio frequency which, when activated, emit a sound or light or transmit a remote, local, visual, or electronic signal or message that is intended to summon a law enforcement response to such location. An alarm system may be manual or automatic.

Yes. Anytime there is a change in ownership of the alarm system, a new alarm permit is required.

Yes. Anytime there is a change in ownership of the alarm system, a new alarm permit is required.

The fees are used to offset the City's administrative costs of the program.

The City wants to substantially reduce the number of false alarms that the police department respond to.

False alarm (FA) activations within a calendar year (January 1st - December 31st) will result as follows: 

No, you will never be charged for an alarm activation that is not false. This ordinance allows charges for false alarms only. 

Yes, you can pay for any fees due on your account via this website by clicking on the home tab and logging in with credentials initiated by CitySupport and secured by the alarm user. 

The Alarm User may appeal an assessment of a false alarm fine to the Alarm Administrator. The Alarm User may do so by setting forth in writing the reasons for the appeal within thirty (30) days of the notice date. A decision will be rendered in writing.

Be sure to include the following with your appeal:

⦁ Your name

⦁ Your email address (if applicable)

⦁ The alarm location

⦁ Date of the false alarm

⦁ Your permit number

⦁ Reasons for the appeal

⦁ Any supporting evidence (ex. call log from your alarm monitoring company for that date & time).  

Appeals can be emailed to: pleasanthillca@citysupport.org

Or, mailed to: City of Pleasant Hill - Alarm Unit  PO BOX 6112  CONCORD, CA 94524

Additional Questions can be addressed by contacting us at 888-865-9770

The decision of the alarm administrator is final.

Failure to pay the fees/fines within 30 days can result in suspended police response to a location.

If you received a duplicate alarm invoice, please email us at pleasanthillca@citysupport.org; give us your street address and let us know you received a duplicate invoice(s) and we will delete the incorrect invoice. Or contact us by phone at 925-718-1090 Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. 

The alarm ordinance is posted online on this website:  Pleasant Hill, CA Alarm Ordinance

We can be reached at 925-718-1090  Monday - Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM or you can email any questions to pleasanthillca@citysupport.org.