Most towns require homeowners to get permits for their alarm systems. Unfortunately, this is not a widely publicized fact and many homeowners learn the hard way.
The City of Hartford, as an example, requires that alarms be registered annually. There is a $15 registration fee. The process is not difficult, homeowners simply need to fill out a one page form and mail it to the Department of Emergency Services & Telecommunications. All of the information is available on their website, though you do have to know to go look for it.
One of the brochures mentions the possibility that the alarm company would buy blocks of permits for their subscribers. I gave our company a quick call to see if they were involved in the registration process. The friendly customer service people said that because each town has different rules, the security company is unable to maintain permits on behalf of their customers. They recommended just getting in touch with the specific town and working through their processes.
Enforcement of the alarm ordinance in Hartford is done with fines for false alarms. Homeowners that have not registered their alarms are hit with a $99 fine right off the bat. Then, they are also subject to a $90 response fee for false alarms. My reading of the ordinance is that there would be no fine or fee if the alarm was legitimate. Homeowners that have registered their alarms are allowed two free false alarms and one half price ($45) response per year before getting to the full $90 response fee for all additional false alarms. And of course they would not have to pay the $99 fine.
If you have an alarm system, please check with your town to find out about the registration requirements. For your convenience, here are links to information for some towns in Greater Hartford. Bloomfield, East Hartford, Farmington, Glastonbury, Hartford, Newington, Manchester, Simsbury, West Hartford, Wethersfield.