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QUESTION: CALIFORNIA LICENSE ISSUE
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Ken,
I have a question about an Alarm Company in California paying a licensed contractor to install a fire alarm and then doing the monitoring of the installed alarm. Is this legal in California?
a competitor
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RESPONSE
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This issue is common in all licensed jurisdictions and I am confident that the response applies to all states. If you are required to have a license then you're going to need that license if you
contract to perform work and actually do the work unless you are working under your employer's license
Not all licensing statutes are clear enough on this issue, so it's no wonder that the issue keeps coming up. Also, there are many unlicensed contractors engaged in the alarm business. To determine if you need the license look at the wording. The license may be required for contracting or performing or both.
I asked our license counsel, Nicoletta Lakatos to check California. Here's her response:
An alarm company operator must be licensed if they engage in business or accept employment to install, maintain, alter, sell on premises, monitor, or service alarm systems. In order to subcontract alarm work, both the company doing the installation and the company who is contracting with subscribers must be licensed. Without a license they run the risk of fines and penalties, and may not be able to bring a claim in court. Also, the Code is very specific that monitoring of alarm systems, even if it is the only activity engaged in, requires an alarm company operator license.
California has two key players, the Alarm Company Operator and the Alarm Agent. The Alarm Company Operator is the license qualifier for the alarm business, and that's who employs the Alarm Agent. The Alarm Agent needs to be an employee, so an independent contractor is not going to be covered by the Alarm Company Operator.
Here's a publication fro the Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Security & Investigation, from 2005.
Alarm Company Operator, Qualified Manager, or Alarm Agent Requirements for Licensure
An Alarm Company Operator operates a business that sells (at the buyer's home or business), installs, monitors, maintains, services, or responds to alarm systems or supervises such actions. (Retail stores do not have to be licensed if they sell alarm systems only at the store and do not perform any alarm company functions.)
In order for a company to seek licensure as an alarm company operator, the Qualified Manager (see below) must have passed the licensing examination.
In addition, each individual applicant, partner, or corporate officer must meet the following requirements:
Be 18 or older
Undergo a criminal history background check through the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Have committed no offense or violation of the Alarm Company Act that would be grounds for license suspension or revocation
To apply for a company license, submit the $35 company license application fee and the $280 company license fee, two recent passport-quality photographs and an Alarm Company Operator Live Scan form signed by the Live Scan Operator. A $32 DOJ processing fee and a $17 FBI processing fee must be paid for each applicant at the Live Scan site. Send the application package to the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, P.O. Box 989002, West Sacramento, CA 95798-9002.
Note: Local authorities may require an alarm company operator to register locally and to get a business permit. They may also enact ordinances governing false alarm activations and responses, and they may require persons who own, lease, or rent alarm systems to get permits.
Qualified Manager
An individual, partnership, or corporation seeking a license as an alarm company operator must specify in the application the individual who will manage the business on a day-to-day basis. This individual is called the Qualified Manager. (An owner, partner, or corporate officer may serve as the qualified manager, or may hire someone to fill this role.) To be eligible to apply for licensure as a qualified manager, you must meet the following requirements:
Be 18 or older
Undergo a criminal history background check through the DOJ and the FBI
Have committed no offense or violation of the Alarm Company Act that would be grounds for license suspension or revocation
Have two years (4,000 hours) of paid experience in alarm company work or the equivalent; and
Pass a two-hour multiple-choice examination covering California law, the Alarm Company Act, alarm agent requirements, weapons laws, business management, and Power to Arrest. A copy of the Alarm Company Act will be sent to you.
To apply for a Qualified Manager certificate, submit a completed application, two recent passport-quality photographs, a $105 application and examination fee and an Alarm Company Operator Qualified Manager Live Scan form signed by the Live Scan Operator. A $32 DOJ processing fee and a $17 FBI processing fee must be paid for each applicant at the Live Scan site. Send the application package to the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, P.O. Box 989002, West Sacramento, CA 95798-9002.
Alarm Agent
An Alarm Agent is employed by an alarm company operator to sell (at the buyer's home or business), install, monitor, maintain, service, or respond to alarm systems or to supervise such actions. To be eligible to apply for registration as an alarm agent, you must meet the following requirements:
Be 18 or older
Undergo a criminal history background check through the DOJ and the FBI; and
Pass the Power to Arrest examination (if your duties will include responding to alarm activations). This follows a eight-hour training course covering responsibilities and ethics in citizen's arrest, relationship with police, limitations on Power to Arrest, restrictions on searches and seizures, criminal and civil liabilities, terrorism, code of ethics and personal and employer liability. The training and exam may be administered by any licensed alarm company operator or qualified manager. A copy of the Alarm Company Act will be provided on request for a fee.
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