The DeKalb County False Alarm Reduction Program requires every alarm system in unincorporated DeKalb County to be registered through a third-party administrator called CryWolf, charges a $5 annual registration fee, and imposes escalating fines for repeat false alarms along with a roughly $499 penalty for any unregistered system that triggers a police or fire response. If you have a monitored burglar, panic, or fire alarm at a home or business in the unincorporated county, the rules below determine what you owe and when.
Who Has to Register
The ordinance covers burglar alarms, panic alarms, and fire alarm systems at both residential and commercial properties in unincorporated DeKalb County. If you pay a company to monitor your alarm, that company is legally responsible for registering your system with CryWolf and paying the annual fee for each residential customer it monitors.1Patch. DeKalb’s False Alarm Ordinance Goes into Effect Dec. 1
That shifts the paperwork off your plate, but not the risk. If your alarm company fails to register your address and police or fire respond to an activation, you are the one facing the unregistered-system fine at your door. Call CryWolf or check the portal to confirm your system actually shows as registered rather than taking your alarm company’s word for it.
If you self-monitor, or your alarm company has not registered you, you can register directly.
How to Register and What It Costs
Registration is handled online at the CryWolf DeKalb County portal, crywolfservices.com/dekalbcoga. You’ll need the property owner’s name, the physical address of the alarm, a billing address if different, and the name and license number of your monitoring company.2DeKalb County False Alarm Reduction Website. Welcome to the DeKalb County, Georgia Prevention and Administration Site
You’ll also enter at least two emergency contacts. Pick people who can actually get to your property and know how to disarm the system. Stale contact information is one of the fastest ways a minor activation becomes a billed dispatch.
The annual fee is $5, and registration has to be renewed every year the system is active. For monitored systems, the alarm company pays this as part of its obligation under the ordinance.
If the portal tells you an account already exists at your address, you can’t create a new registration on top of it. Call CryWolf customer service at (877) 665-2988 to clear the old account. This happens often when you move into a home where the previous owner had a registered system.
What False Alarms Cost
Fines escalate based on how many false alarms your address generates in a rolling 12-month period. The first false alarm in that window is a warning, not a bill. Starting with the second, you pay, and the amount goes up with each additional incident. The clock resets after 12 months without a false alarm.
The specific dollar amounts for the second and subsequent incidents have been adjusted since the program began. Check the current fee schedule on the CryWolf portal or ask your alarm company before assuming an older figure still applies.
The $499 Unregistered-System Penalty
Operating an unregistered alarm system carries a much steeper penalty than any single false alarm. If police or fire respond to an address with no valid registration on file, the property owner faces a fine of roughly $499. The alarm company faces a comparable fine for each unregistered customer it monitors. The amounts are set high on purpose, so confirming your registration status is worth the five minutes it takes.
How to Dispute a Citation
You can appeal a false alarm citation if the activation wasn’t caused by user error or an equipment problem on your end. Appeal guidelines are posted on the CryWolf portal, and deadlines are tight, so file promptly after receiving the notice.2DeKalb County False Alarm Reduction Website. Welcome to the DeKalb County, Georgia Prevention and Administration Site
Common grounds that succeed include lightning strikes and severe weather, verified power outages, and utility failures that triggered the system through no fault of yours. Documentation makes the difference. A repair invoice showing a technician found weather-related damage, utility outage records for your address, and weather service reports from the date of the alarm all back up the claim.
How to Keep From Getting Fined
Most false alarms are preventable, and a few habits cover the bulk of them.
- User error is the single most common cause. Make sure everyone who might be alone at the property — household members, babysitters, houseguests, cleaners — knows the code and the disarm procedure.
- Check that doors and windows close fully before arming. Contacts drift out of alignment over time, especially after remodeling or seasonal frame movement.
- If you have pets, ask your alarm company about pet-immune motion sensors. Ceiling fans, balloons, and insects can also set off standard motion detectors.
- Replace sensor and keypad batteries on a schedule rather than waiting for failure. Weak batteries send erratic signals that read as activations.
- Glassbreak detectors can react to thunder, fireworks, and loud audio. Dust on smoke detectors causes false readings; clean them regularly.
If you set off your own alarm, call your monitoring company immediately to cancel the dispatch. Do not call 911 to cancel an alarm activation; your monitoring company is the correct point of contact.