A monitored alarm is only useful if someone acts on it. In Washington, what happens after the siren depends a lot on your city. This guide covers how monitoring works, the city rules we could confirm on official pages, and the questions to ask.
Two ways to monitor
- Professional (central station) monitoring. The panel sends signals to a staffed monitoring center. The operator tries to verify the alarm, usually by calling you and your contacts, and then asks 911 for police or fire. It needs a monthly fee and often a contract.
- Self-monitoring. The panel or camera alerts your phone, and you decide what to do. There is no monitoring fee, though cloud video may need a subscription. Nobody calls for help if you miss the alert.
Some companies offer both, or switch between them month to month. Indicative examples, seen 2026-11-01: Ring’s Ring Pro plan, which includes 24/7 professional monitoring, is listed at $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year. ADT’s published residential terms describe a 36-month monitoring contract. Home Assistant runs locally with no subscription, and its optional cloud service adds remote access. Prices change; check the company’s own page.
Seattle: verified response
From the Seattle Police Department’s alarm page (seen 2026-11-01):
- Police respond to alarm company calls with evidence of a crime in progress: audio, video, a panic alarm, or an eyewitness that someone is entering or trying to enter. They don’t respond to sensor or motion activations alone. They respond to all robbery, panic and duress alarms.
- Alarm companies must be licensed with the city and use enhanced call verification before requesting dispatch. Seattle publishes a list of licensed alarm companies.
- You don’t register. The city deals with the alarm company.
- False alarm fees are billed to the alarm company, which commonly passes them on: $115 for an automated (burglar) alarm, $230 for a panic, duress or robbery alarm, $30 if cancelled after dispatch but before arrival, $0 if cancelled before dispatch.
- Waiver. Seattle offers a waiver once every 84 months for attending an alarm user workshop or switching to private guard dispatch.
What this means: in Seattle, a plain door-sensor alarm with professional monitoring won’t by itself bring police. If police response matters to you, ask the company how it gets evidence (video or audio verification) and whether it offers private guard response.
Tacoma: verification before dispatch
From the City of Tacoma’s alarm page (seen 2026-11-01):
- The monitoring company must verify the alarm before calling police: a person at the premises confirms a possible crime, live video or audio shows one, or two zones trip and the operator completes enhanced call confirmation.
- False alarm fees (from 2025-01-01, per 12 months, billed to the monitoring company): $115 for the first or second, $215 for the third or fourth, $265 for the fifth or sixth, $315 after that. The first one isn’t free. The company may pass the fee on.
- More than four false alarms in 12 months can mean a “No Response” designation for up to 12 months (hold-up, robbery and panic alarms excepted).
- Licensing. Monitoring companies need a Tacoma Alarm System Operator license, even if they monitor from outside the city, and pay a $40 yearly device fee per system, which they may pass on. Homes don’t need their own alarm permit.
Other cities we could confirm
- Spokane: all alarm systems in the city must be registered: $25 a year for homes. A residential false alarm fine is $85.
- Federal Way: registration costs $25 and is required. In each July–June registration year, the first two false alarms are free; then burglary alarm fees are $50, $100, $150 and $200 for the third through sixth.
Many other Washington cities and counties have their own alarm rules. We list only what we could confirm on an official page. Ask your city or county police, or your alarm company, for the local rules.
What UL listing means
UL Solutions certifies alarm monitoring centers against UL 827, the Standard for Central-Station Alarm Services. A listed center has passed an on-site examination and is audited every year. Listed centers in full-service categories can issue certificates for an installed system, which UL says insurers and code officials often require.
Ask the company which monitoring center it uses, whether it owns the center or contracts with one, and for the center’s UL listing. Listings in our security systems directory say whether the company says it runs its own center or contracts one.
Backup: what keeps the signal going
- Internet down. An alarm that reports only over your internet goes silent with it. A cellular communicator keeps sending signals. Ask which cellular network it uses and who pays for it.
- Power out. Panels have a backup battery. Ask how long it lasts and how the system warns you when it is low.
- Cameras and Wi-Fi. Cameras and video verification need the router and recorder powered. Put the router, modem, recorder and PoE switch on a UPS.
- Test it. Put the system in test mode with the monitoring center, unplug the router, and check that alarms still arrive.
Questions to ask
- Who monitors: the company itself or a contracted center? Is the center UL-listed?
- How does it verify alarms? Does it offer video or audio verification?
- Who pays false alarm fees, and is that in the contract?
- Does it hold the city’s alarm license in Seattle or Tacoma?
- How does the panel report: cellular, internet, or both?
- Can I switch to self-monitoring, or another company, later? See Own your security system.
Insurers may offer a discount for monitored alarms; ask yours what proof it wants before you choose.