Alarm System Installation by Builders, and “Pre-Wiring”

December 2, 2020

Feb. 15, 2008
This is in response to a request for clarification of the department’s interpretation of Section 1702.328(b) the Private Security Act.  Subsection (b) of Section 1702.328 addresses the installation of alarm systems by builders, (residential or commercial) during construction.  This provision provides in relevant part:

  1. A person in the business of building construction that installs electrical wiring and devices that may include in part the installation of a burglar alarm or detection device if:
    1. The person is a party to a contract that provides that:
      1. The installation will be performed under the direct supervision of, and inspected and certified by, a person licensed to install and certify the alarm or detection device; and
      2. The license holder assumes full responsibility for the installation of the alarm or detection device; and
    2. The person does not service or maintain alarm systems, electronic access control devices, locks, or detection devices;

This provision allows a builder to install burglar alarm or detection devices under certain limited conditions, perhaps the most important of which is that the installation must be supervised and inspected by a licensed alarm installer.   The builder’s contract must specify that the installation is being performed under these circumstances, and it must provide that the licensee assumes responsibility for the installation.  The department would also interpret this provision as requiring that the licensee be identified in the contract.

The department would like to take this opportunity to address a related issue, that of “pre-wiring” for alarm systems.  There has been some confusion within the industry regarding whether the installation of electrical wiring that may be utilized by an alarm system constitutes part of that system for purposes of regulation.  One source of the confusion is the statute’s use of the term “wiring” in the definition of ‘detection device.’  Tex. Occ. Code §1702.002(6).

It is the department’s position that only the low-voltage wiring that is essential and unique to the alarm system constitutes ‘wiring’ for purposes of Section 1702.002(6).  The result is that a license is required for the installation of electrical wiring that would not exist but for the alarm system, and which is not merely associated with the power supply to the system.