Fire Alarm False Alarm Fines in the 50 Largest U.S. Cities (2026)

Fire alarm false alarm fines compared: the 17 cities with a published schedule

Seventeen of the 50 largest cities publish a fire-specific false alarm schedule we could verify. For a permitted commercial building, 10 false alarms in a year cost a median $2,012.75 and as much as $11,770.

San Diego tops the ranking at $11,770 for 10 false alarms because its FY23 schedule jumps from $440 for the 5th false alarm to $2,200 for the 6th and every later one in a calendar year. Its first two false alarms are free under SDMC Sec. 511.8314(f).

Oakland ($6,375.12) and Los Angeles ($5,860) follow. Oakland charges $796.89 per commercial false alarm from the second transmission in any 6 months. Los Angeles has no free alarm and adds $50 per additional alarm within 365 days, so its 10th costs $811.

At the low end, Nashville caps false alarm fines at $25 each, Kansas City starts at $25, and Phoenix charges a flat $105. A building with 10 false alarms pays $200, $875 and $945 in those cities.

At 5 false alarms the order changes. Oakland ($2,390.67) and Los Angeles ($2,305) cost the most, while Houston costs $0 because a Group A permit includes 5 free false alarms. The median for 5 alarms is $600.

How many free false alarms each city allows before a fine

The median allowance is 2 free false fire alarms per counting period. Only Los Angeles allows none, and Houston allows the most (5 for small systems, 15 for mid-size systems).

Seven cities allow exactly 1 free false fire alarm: Phoenix, San Antonio, Seattle, Memphis, Fresno, Mesa and Oakland. Seattle resets every calendar quarter, which adds up to 4 waived alarms a year for each building.

Four cities allow 3 free alarms (Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Kansas City and Tampa), and Houston allows 5 per permit period for Group A systems. Albuquerque also refers a commercial user to the Fire Marshal for inspection after more than 2 false fire alarms in a permit year.

Counting period: The window in which false alarms are counted before the free allowance resets. In this dataset it ranges from a calendar quarter (Seattle) and 6 months (Oakland) to a calendar, fiscal or permit year.

How fast fines climb: flat fees versus escalating ladders

Eight of the 17 cities charge the same amount for every paid false alarm. The rest escalate, most steeply in San Diego (20x) and Kansas City (10x).

Flat-fee cities: Oakland, Memphis, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Houston, Fresno, Phoenix and Nashville. In these cities the 10th false alarm costs the same as the first paid one.

San Antonio climbs in steps: $125 for the 2nd to 4th false alarm, $250 for the 5th to 9th, and $500 from the 10th in 12 months, a 4x rise. Tampa doubles from $150 to $300 after the 6th alarm in a calendar year. Mesa moves from $100 for the second to $200 for the third and later.

Seattle sets one penalty per quarter by count: $433 for 2 to 5 preventable alarms, $866 for 6 to 8 and $1,044 for 9 or more. Owners can offset the penalty dollar for dollar by spending on fire alarm system repairs under the Invest in Lieu option.

Fire false alarm charges versus police alarm fees in the same city

Where a city publishes both, the fire charge is higher in every case we found, from 1.09x in Phoenix to 8.60x in Oakland.

Oakland lists a $92.61 police false alarm service fee but a $796.89 fire penalty in the same FY2025-26 master fee schedule. Oklahoma City charges $82 per police response and $292 per Fire Department response.

Many searches for false alarm fines return police schedules. In Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Baltimore, the published false alarm fees we opened apply to burglar, robbery or panic alarms answered by police, not to fire alarms.

New York City: no fee schedule, but 15,097 summonses in 2025

FDNY does not bill a per-alarm fee. It issues summonses heard by OATH for failing to prevent unnecessary or unwarranted alarms (charge BF35), and the imposed penalties show what repeat false alarms cost in practice.

BF35 summonses with 2025 violation dates reached 15,097, the highest year in the series, up 36.2% from 11,087 in 2021. Imposed penalties totaled $18,473,846, an average of $1,223.68 per summons.

The most common imposed penalty in 2025 was $935 (4,969 summonses), and the median was $935. A $0 penalty applied to 3,896 summonses (25.8%), and the $5,000 level to 1,906 (12.6%).

FDNY dispatch data count 50,871 alarm-system incidents in 2025, 7.5% of all 675,389 FDNY incidents. Most were classified Unnecessary (36,502). The classification mix shifted after 2019, so the combined total is the safer trend measure.

The other 33 cities: police-only programs, repair orders and fees we could not price

Of the 33 cities without a verified fire schedule, 25 showed no fire false alarm fine in official sources, 3 charge fees whose amounts were not in the documents we could open, 3 use summonses or repair orders, 1 has a schedule of unclear scope and 1 blocked access.

• Fee exists, amount not published in the opened source: Miami (Fire Prevention Bureau invoices; amounts in City Code Ch. 3 Art. III), Las Vegas (warning after 2 false or nuisance alarms in 30 days, then fines from the fee schedule) and Denver (person responsible reimburses the total response cost, 2025 Denver Fire Code Sec. 401.5).
• Repair duty instead of a fee: Chicago (Sec. 15-16-1500) and Tucson (2024 fire code amendment Sec. 907.8.5).
• Unclear scope: Raleigh posts a fine ladder ($50 to $500) on its fire department site, but defines a false alarm by police inspection for unauthorized entry or robbery.
• Not verified: San Francisco. Every official page we tried returned a bot challenge, so no San Francisco figure is used.

Fort Worth is listed as none found, yet its Fire Department 2019 annual report shows a $45,750 "False Fire Alarm Fees" revenue line for FY2019 and FY2020. A fire fee may exist in a source we could not open.

Who gets the bill, and how owners cut it

Most schedules bill the alarm user or permit holder, which for commercial and multifamily buildings usually means the owner of record. Several cities waive one fine for training or repairs.

• Los Angeles bills the Fire Alarm System User, defined as the owner of record, and waives one fee per 365 days after online Alarm School.
• Phoenix waives one $105 assessment for a False Alarm Prevention Program certificate.
• Seattle writes citations to the building owner and credits fire alarm upgrades against the penalty.
• Houston bills the permit holder, or the person in control when no permit exists, and adds a 30% penalty after 90 days unpaid.
• Tampa bills property owners or responsible parties; its 2026 audit found about $120,000 in charges from 2021 onward still open in October 2025.

In most of these schedules the bill goes to the alarm user, permit holder or owner of record, so apartment and HOA boards and office landlords carry it. Our apartments and HOA guide and offices guide list the alarm duties that sit with owners, and the fire alarm inspection page covers the testing that keeps detectors from drifting into nuisance alarms.

For the violations inspectors cite most often, see the most common fire code violations.

Ratios behind the comparison

Download the calculations (CSV)

Where the numbers diverge

1. San Diego has the highest 10-alarm cost in the sample: $11,770 in a calendar year for a permitted user, because the 6th and each later false alarm costs $2,200 (FY23 schedule, SDMC Ch. 5 Art. 11 Div. 83).^[16]
2. Oakland charges $796.89 per commercial false fire alarm from the second in any 6 months (FY2025-26 schedule), so 10 alarms spread over a year cost $6,375.12.^[53]
3. Los Angeles charges $361 for the first false fire alarm and adds $50 for each additional one within 365 days, so 10 alarms cost $5,860 (Ordinance 188013, effective 2023-12-12).^[5]
4. Houston allows 5 free false fire alarms per permit period for a Group A system and 15 for Group B, then charges $402.55 each; 5 alarms cost $0 and 10 cost $2,012.75 (HFD page, July 2026 capture).^[9]
5. Nashville is the lowest-cost city: 2 free false fire alarms per fiscal permit year, then fines that Metro Code Ch. 10.60 caps at $25 each, so 10 alarms cost at most $200.^[29]
6. Kansas City starts at $25 for the 4th false alarm in a calendar year and reaches $250 from the 9th, a 10x ladder (Code Sec. 26-907.11.3).^[46]
7. The median free allowance is 2 false alarms per counting period; 7 of the 17 cities allow exactly 1 and 5 allow 3 or more.^{[16][53][5][45]}
8. Fire false alarm charges run higher than police charges in the same city: Oakland $796.89 vs $92.61 (8.60x), Oklahoma City $292 vs $82 (3.56x), Memphis $250 vs $90 (2.78x).^[53][30][38]
9. 25 of the 50 largest cities had no fire false alarm fine in the official sources we opened; for most of them, the alarm programs we found cover burglar, robbery or panic alarms answered by police.^[23][39][12]
10. Chicago and Tucson use repair orders instead of fees: Chicago requires repair within 24 hours after 2 false alarms in 48 hours (Sec. 15-16-1500), and Tucson issues a repair notice before any citation.^[8][44]
11. New York City OATH data show 15,097 FDNY BF35 summonses with 2025 violation dates, up 36.2% from 2021, with $18,473,846 in penalties imposed.^[2]
12. In 2025, 25.8% of NYC BF35 summonses ended with a $0 penalty, 32.9% at $935 and 12.6% at $5,000.^[2]
13. FDNY recorded 50,871 alarm-system incidents in 2025, 7.5% of 675,389 incidents and 34.5% more than in 2019.^[3]
14. Los Angeles says about 15,000 of roughly 32,000 fire alarm activations a year, 46.9% by our calculation, are false (Ordinance 188013 recital).^[7]

Summary

• 17 of the 50 most populous U.S. cities publish a fire false alarm fee schedule that we could open and verify; together they hold 34.7% of the 51,316,953 people in the top 50 (Census Vintage 2025).
• A permitted commercial building that sends 10 false fire alarms in a year pays a median $2,012.75 across those 17 cities; 5 false alarms cost a median $600.
• The 10-alarm bill ranges from $200 in Nashville, where Metro Code caps each fine at $25, to $11,770 in San Diego, a 58.9-fold spread.
• Los Angeles is the only one of the 17 with no free false alarm: the first costs $361 and each later one within 365 days adds $50.
• 8 of the 17 cities charge a flat amount per alarm; San Diego (20x) and Kansas City (10x) escalate the most between the first paid and the 10th fine.
• In 25 of the 50 cities we found no fire false alarm fine at all; most run police-only alarm programs that exclude or do not cover fire alarms.
• New York City has no per-alarm fee but issues summonses: 15,097 BF35 summonses with 2025 violation dates drew $18,473,846 in imposed penalties, a median of $935.

Frequently asked questions

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• Fire Department Response Time in 8 U.S. Cities

Methodology

Scope: the 50 most populous incorporated places in the U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city estimates, using the consolidated-city balance for Indianapolis, Nashville and Louisville. Only false fire alarm charges are in scope; burglar, robbery and panic alarm fees are noted where they share an ordinance or to explain a "none found" result.

Sources: for each city we opened the ordinance text, the official fee schedule or the fire or alarm office page and saved a copy in raw/. Commercial code hosts (Municode, American Legal, eCode360, municipal.codes) refused automated requests, so we used city-hosted copies of code chapters and fee schedules, and Internet Archive captures where the live city file refused requests (Houston, Fresno, Mesa, Milwaukee, Raleigh, Chicago, Denver); each row records the original URL and capture date.

Inclusion: a city counts as "fee schedule verified" only when an opened official document states the free allowance and the dollar amount. Mesa is included on the basis of a 2023 council fees and charges report with fee schedule pages; Sacramento on a 2012 fire department information sheet. "None found" means the official pages and fee schedules we opened, plus a site search of the city domain, showed no fire false alarm fine; it is not proof that none exists.

Pricing rules: permitted commercial user; Houston Group A (10 or fewer devices); Albuquerque business rate; Memphis uses the $250 fire cost-of-service charge only (the separate fine is not stated) and Sacramento omits the unquantified administrative penalty from the 6th alarm, so both are floors; Nashville and Milwaukee use the maximum of the court-set range. For sub-annual periods (Seattle quarter, Oakland 6 months) alarms are spread evenly across the periods in a year. One-time permit fees, late fees and San Diego's $85 cost recovery fee are excluded.

Conflicts: the Los Angeles fire department page shows both a $322 first fee and a 2023/24 table at $361; we used the table. Older news figures for Houston, San Francisco and other cities were excluded unless an official document confirmed them (see excluded.md).

New York City: FDNY charges no per-alarm fee, so we summarized NYC OATH case data for charge BF35 by violation year and FDNY dispatch data for alarm-system incident classes. Both were queried through the Socrata API on 2026-10-27.

Not legal advice: this report summarizes municipal codes and fee schedules as published on the date checked. Amounts change through annual fee ordinances. It is not legal advice; confirm requirements with the city fire department or alarm office and your counsel. Code requirements apply as adopted by your state and city.

Last updated 2026-10-27. Data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0; credit "Fire Life and Safety, False Fire Alarm Fines in the 50 Largest U.S. Cities (2026)".

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, engineering, financial or investment advice. Requirements depend on the code edition your state and local fire marshal have adopted; confirm with your authority having jurisdiction.

Sources, ranked by quality

Tier 1: primary and official sources (59)

• [1] U.S. Census Bureau. City and Town Population Totals, Vintage 2025 (sub-est2025.csv). July 1, 2025 estimates. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [2] NYC Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, NYC Open Data. OATH Hearings Division Case Status (dataset jz4z-kudi), FDNY charge BF35. Violation dates 2013 to 2025; queried 2026-10-27. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [3] Fire Department of the City of New York, NYC Open Data. Fire Incident Dispatch Data (dataset 8m42-w767). 2019 to 2025; rows updated 2026-10-05. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [4] City of New York. No per-alarm fee schedule; FDNY issues OATH summonses (charge BF35, fail to prevent unnecessary/unwarranted alarms). n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [5] City of Los Angeles. LAMC Secs. 57.901.11 to 57.901.11.3 (Ordinance No. 188013). 2023-12-12. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [6] City of Los Angeles. Los Angeles supporting document. 2023-12-12. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [7] City of Los Angeles. Los Angeles supporting document. 2023-12-12. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [8] City of Chicago. Municipal Code Sec. 15-16-1500 False alarms (Title 15 as of 2020-07-31). Title 15 text as of 2020-07-31. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [9] City of Houston. City Code Ch. 11, Art. II (fire alarm permits and false fire alarm fees, enacted 2002-07-01). 2002-07-01 (fee amount as shown July 2026). Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [10] City of Phoenix. Phoenix City Code Ch. 10, Secs. 10-66 to 10-86.01 (alarm systems; covers fire alarms); fee amount per city alarm page. Code extract dated 2010-05-07. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [11] City of Phoenix. Phoenix supporting document. Code extract dated 2010-05-07. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [12] City of Philadelphia. None found for fire. City alarm registration (Phila. Code, Office of Administrative Review) covers burglary or robbery alarm systems. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [13] City of Philadelphia. Philadelphia supporting document. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [14] City of San Antonio. City Code Ch. 25, Art. IV (Secs. 25-57(k), 25-66(a)). not stated on page. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [15] City of San Antonio. San Antonio supporting document. not stated on page. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [16] City of San Diego. SDMC Ch. 5, Art. 11, Div. 83 (Secs. 511.8301 ff.; O-21409 N.S.). 2022-02-26. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [17] City of San Diego. San Diego supporting document. 2022-02-26. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [18] City of Dallas. None found for fire. Dallas City Code Ch. 15C, Art. I (Alarm Ordinance) as summarized by city covers burglar alarms. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [19] City of Dallas. Dallas supporting document. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [20] City of Fort Worth. None found for fire in opened sources. Police alarm program (Development Services Alarms Unit) only. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [21] City of Jacksonville. None found for fire. Ordinance Code Ch. 168 (Burglary and Robbery Alarm Systems), administered by JSO. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [22] City of Austin. None found for fire. City alarm ordinance administered by APD covers alarms that summon police. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [23] City of Charlotte. None found for fire. CMPD alarm ordinance excludes fire alarms; CFD FY27 user fee schedule has no false alarm line. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [24] City of Charlotte. Charlotte supporting document. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [25] City of Columbus. None found. 2026 Combined Development Related Fee Schedule has no false alarm line. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [26] City of Seattle. Seattle Fire Code preventable alarm provisions, as summarized in SFD Client Assistance Memo 5970 (updated January 2025). CAM updated January 2025 (program started 2020). Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [27] City of Seattle. Seattle supporting document. CAM updated January 2025 (program started 2020). Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [28] City of Denver. 2025 Denver Fire Code, Sec. 401.5 False alarm (reimbursement of total response cost) and Chapter 2 definitions of FALSE FIRE ALARM and NUISANCE FIRE ALARM. 2025 Denver Fire Code (June 2025 version). Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [29] City of Nashville. Metropolitan Code Ch. 10.60, Burglar and Fire Alarm Systems (Secs. 10.60.010 to 10.60.xxx; Ord. BL2004-353, BL2014-778). Chapter as amended through Ord. BL2014-778. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [30] City of Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City Municipal Code alarm ordinance (administered by OKCPD Permit and ID Unit). not stated on page. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [31] District of Columbia Council. None found for nuisance alarms. D.C. Code Sec. 22-1319 makes a willful or knowing false alarm of fire a misdemeanor. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [32] City of Las Vegas. Southern Nevada Fire Code amendments (City of Las Vegas, version dated 2025-04-10), definition "Fines for false or nuisance alarms". Amendments dated 2025-04-10. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [33] City of Las Vegas. Las Vegas supporting document. Amendments dated 2025-04-10. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [34] City of Boston. None found. Boston Fire Department fee schedule (effective 2016-09-22) has no false alarm line. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [35] City of Detroit. None found. BSEED fee schedule (effective 2024-01-01, modified 2025-07-18) lists failed fire alarm test fees but no false alarm fee. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [36] City of Louisville. None found for fire. LMPD False Alarm Reduction Program covers burglar and hold-up alarm dispatches. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [37] City of Portland. None found for fire. Portland Police Alarms Unit administers police alarm permits. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [38] City of Memphis. City of Memphis alarm ordinance (Ordinance 5729), Metro Alarm Office. not stated on FAQ. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [39] City of Baltimore. None found for fire. City Code Art. 19, Subtitle 8 (Burglar Alarms), Sec. 8-8 false alarm fees apply to alarms that summon police. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [40] City of Baltimore. Baltimore supporting document. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [41] City of Milwaukee. Code of Ordinances Sec. 105-75, Private Alarm Systems and Regulations (alarm system includes fire alarms), sub. 15 forfeitures. Chapter page dated 2016-11-22 in capture. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [42] City of Albuquerque. ROA 1994 Secs. 9-3-1 to 9-3-99, Alarm System Ordinance (Ord. 8-2003); Sec. 9-3-13 service fees. Ord. 8-2003 (copy dated 2018-04-13). Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [43] City of Fresno. Master Fee Schedule, Fire Department section, item 528 "Public Safety Alarms: Response to False Alarm" (MFS Amendment #580, effective 2024-07-01). 2024-07-01. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [44] City of Tucson. 2024 Tucson Fire Code amendments, Sec. 907.8.5 (nuisance fire alarm) and definition of NUISANCE FIRE ALARM. 2024 amendment draft dated 2024-03-15. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [45] City of Sacramento. City Code Ch. 8.38 (False Fire Alarm Code); cost recovery under Ch. 15.36 (fire code Sec. 401.9). 2012-09-20. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [46] City of Kansas City. Code of Ordinances Sec. 26-907.11 to 26-907.11.5 (fire code amendments), as shown in Ordinance No. 230424 compared version (2023). Ord. 230424 (2023); fire schedule pre-dates it. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [47] City of Mesa. Mesa Fire and Medical Department Schedule of Fees and Charges, fee 4206 "False Alarm Response" (council report 2023-06-19). Recommended for FY2023/24 (adoption not confirmed in opened sources). Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [48] City of Raleigh. City false alarm ordinance (page under raleighnc.gov/fire, updated 2025-08-06); false alarm defined by police inspection. Page updated 2025-08-06. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [49] City of Colorado Springs. None found. Fire department fee schedules page lists no false alarm fee. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [50] City of Miami. City Code Ch. 3, Art. III (Fire Alarms), Sec. 3-56 ff.; fire false alarm invoices issued by Fire Prevention Bureau (schedule not opened). n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [51] City of Virginia Beach. None found for fire: false alarm program is run by the Police Department False Alarm Reduction Unit. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [52] City of Long Beach. None found for fire. Long Beach Municipal Code false alarm billing applies to Police Department responses. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [53] City of Oakland. Oakland Fire Code false alarm provisions; FY2025-26 Master Fee Schedule, Fire Department section F "False Alarm Fees as provided in the Oakland Fire Code". 2025-07-01. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [54] City of Minneapolis. None found for fire. City false alarm fees apply to police alarm calls. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [55] City of Tulsa. None found for fire. City alarm certificates cover intrusion alarms that request police response. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [56] City of Tampa. Tampa false fire alarm ordinance (per City Internal Audit 26-07, 2026-03-13); Tampa Fire Rescue Administrative and Operations Fees. Fee page updated October 2016. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [57] City of Tampa. Tampa supporting document. Fee page updated October 2016. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [58] City of Aurora. None found. Aurora Fire Rescue fees page lists inspection, reinspection and permit fees only. n/a. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [59] City of Fort Worth. Fort Worth Fire Department 2019 Annual Report. FY2019 and FY2020. Accessed 2026-10-27.