Alarm Limit Enforcement
This article is a guide for new Alarms. See New Alarms vs Classic Alarms if you are unsure which version of Alarms you have.
If your site has exceeded or is approaching the monthly limit of 15 Verkada-monitored alarms, your site is subject to alarm limit enforcement. When the site consistently exceeds this limit, the system activates enforcement and switches the remaining alarms for the month to self-monitored response.
Use this guide to identify the drivers of your alarm volume, apply configuration changes to reduce it, and understand the enforcement policy and timeline.
Identify issues
Use the Alarm Events Report to review your alarm history and identify patterns. Check which devices, partitions, or times of day generate the most alarms.
In Verkada Command, go to All Products > Alarms.
In the left navigation, select Reports > Alarm Events.
Use the filers to sort the reports.
Date Range: Choose past 30 or 90 days to spot recurring patterns
Sites: Select the site exceeding the limit
Device Type: Identify the main source of alarms
Devices or partitions that appear repeatedly are your highest priority items to address. Use the configuration tips below to resolve them.
Configuration tips to reduce alarm count
The following sections cover the four most common causes of excess alarms and how to fix them.
1. Misconfigured camera triggers
ROI defines the area within the camera frame that a trigger monitors. Anything outside the ROI is ignored.
Why it matters: An indoor camera with a glass window or door in its field of view is effectively looking outside. Reflections and visible movement through glass can trigger detection even when the ROI appears to cover only the interior. This is one of the most commonly missed misconfigurations.
How to apply it: When reviewing a camera's trigger setup, check carefully for glass in the frame. If a window or glass door is visible, tighten the ROI to exclude it.
See Configure Camera Alarm Trigger Events for New Alarms for more information.
Example: A restaurant camera near the front entrance included a large glass window facing the street. Person detection was firing constantly from pedestrians outside. Tightening the ROI to exclude the window resolved it entirely.
Click Show Examples to review past trigger events and validate your trigger configuration and arm schedule.
Click this arm schedule to review and adjust your schedule directly.
Line Crossing triggers an event only when a person crosses a defined line in the frame, typically a doorway, a gate or a fence, rather than detecting presence anywhere in a zone. Use Line Crossing at Entrances Instead of Broad Detection.
Why it matters: Broad person detection or loitering will fire on anyone in the general area, including people passing by outside. Line Crossing only triggers when someone actually enters the protected space in the configured direction.
How to apply it: Draw the line just inside the doorway or entry point, facing inward. (if applicable) Combine with an entry delay so authorized staff have time to disarm after crossing.
Example: A camera monitoring a fenced area next to an open parking lot used broad Person Detection to catch anyone jumping the fence, resulting in 14 estimated alarms per week from people simply walking through the parking lot. Switching to a Line Crossing trigger scoped to the fence line dropped estimated alarms to 0.
2. Alarms triggered by authorized activity
One of the most common sources of excess alarms isn't intruders, it's authorized people: cleaning crews unaware the site is armed or weekend staff arriving outside scheduled windows.
Why it matters: Normal operational activity becomes an alarm problem when the system isn't configured to account for it. The most effective fix is giving those users a reliable way to disarm.
Avoid relying solely on scheduled arm/disarm windows for sites with recurring after-hours activity. Instead, consider the following options:
Configure entry and exit delays: The delay is the grace period between someone entering the site and the alarm being raised. It gives users enough time to reach the keypad and disarm. Setting it to an appropriate duration is a zero-cost configuration change with immediate impact.
Install BK22 keypads at entrances: The BK22 keypad arms and disarms alarm partitions, and notifies users that they’ve tripped the alarm site. If staff use multiple entrances, consider a keypad at each one with proper keycode management.
Install outputs that display the armed state at entrances, so authorized staff are aware that the alarm system is active before they enter.
Configure Access Control to arm/disarm upon entry and exit, where possible, removing the need for staff to remember to interact with the system.
Use smart schedules if your site has varied closing hours. Smart schedules automatically arm your site based on activity, rather than a fixed time.
Use the Command mobile app for remote arm/disarm, ideal for sites where keypad placement is difficult. The Arm/Disarm role grants permission to arm/disarm only via Command, making it perfect for site staff.
3. High traffic outdoor areas causing excess alarms
Why it matters: Outdoor and public-facing areas have unavoidable foot traffic, and using alarms as the first response creates excessive noise.
Use a layered response strategy where lower-threshold events trigger deterrence first, and only sustained presence escalates to an alarm. This filters out casual passersby while still identifying genuine loitering.
Example: Deterrence triggers at 10 seconds of loitering, and escalates to an alarm only after 2 minutes of sustained presence. This reduces noise from people passing by or checking store hours while still capturing real threats.
4. Unintended alarms from system setup and testing
Why it matters: Testing and initial setup are a common but often overlooked source of alarm volume. Running tests generates real alarms that count toward your monthly quota, and new sites that are still being configured can trigger alarms before the setup is complete.
During setup and configuration:
Keep the site disarmed until it is fully ready. Note that scheduled arm/disarm windows can automatically arm a site even if the sensor or camera configuration isn't complete. Keep the arming manual until you're confident the setup is complete.
If manual arming/disarming isn't possible, set the response level to Self-Monitored so any alarms generated during setup don't count toward your limit or trigger a dispatch.
When testing sensors:
Use the Walk Test to confirm sensors are triggering correctly without generating live alarms.
For testing after configuration is complete:
Set the response level to Self Monitored while you validate the setup.
Alarm limit enforcement policy
Each alarm site has a monthly limit of 15 Verkada-monitored alarms. If a site exceeds this limit for two consecutive months, enforcement activates in the third month. After the 15th alarm in that third month, the site switches to self-monitored for the remainder of the month.
If the site continues to exceed 15 alarms in subsequent months, enforcement remains active. Staying under the limit for one full month resets enforcement.
Tracking begins April 1, 2026.
Month
Status
What Happens
Month 1: 15+ alarms
Grace Period 1
The site exceeds 15 alarms. No enforcement applies. The system sends a warning SMS and email at the 16th alarm to Site Admins and the Alarm Admin Contact.
Month 2 (consecutive): 15+ alarms
Grace Period 2
The site exceeds 15 alarms again. No enforcement applies. The system sends a warning SMS and email at the 16th alarm to Site Admins and the Alarm Admin Contact.
Month 3+ (consecutive): 15+ alarms
Enforcement Active
The system sends a warning SMS and email at the 10th alarm to indicate enforcement is approaching. After the 15th alarm, the system switches remaining alarms to self-monitored for the rest of the month.
Alarms that count towards the limit:
Any alarm that is not the Self-Monitored response level, including sensor alarms that are dismissed by video verification
Alarms that DO NOT count towards the limit:
Camera dismissed events such as No Person Detected or Rule Not Met
Alarms with the Self-Monitored response level
FAQ
When did tracking for enforcement start?
Tracking began on April 1, 2026. Given the 3-month grace period outlined in our policy, the earliest a site can face enforcement is June 2026, and only applies to sites that exceeded 15 alarms in April, May, and June consecutively.
Who receives the enforcement related SMS/email notifications?
Warning notifications are sent to Site Admins and the Alarm Admin Contact. Users in the alarm site's contact list will receive these notifications only if they are also Site Admins.
How many warning notifications were sent before my site got enforced?
We send 3 warnings over a 3-month period prior to enforcement:
Month 1 (Grace Period 1): A warning SMS/email is sent at the 16th alarm
Month 2 (Grace Period 2): A warning SMS/email is sent at the 16th alarm
Month 3+ (Enforcement Active): A warning SMS/email is sent at the 10th alarm, and an enforcement notification is sent at the 16th alarm to indicate the site is enforced.
What happens in Self-Monitored response level? How is it different from other response levels?
In Self-Monitored mode, alarm notifications are sent directly to response contacts without Verkada monitoring center involvement. You receive the same SMS/email alerts as other response levels, but your team is responsible for deciding how to respond, whether that means calling emergency services, dispatching internal security, or simply logging the event.
See Self Monitored Response Level for more information.
When will my site go back to normal after enforcement?
Verkada resets the alarm count at the start of each month. A site that is enforced will resume monitoring in the following calendar month. However, if in the following month the site exceeds the 15-alarm limit, it will continue to be enforced as self-monitored alarm response for the rest of the month.
To fully reset enforcement, you need one full calendar month in which the site is under the 15-alarm limit.
If there is an emergency when my site is enforced, will the police be called? How can I dispatch police when my site is enforced and self-monitored?
No, the police will not be dispatched automatically, as the site will be self-monitored due to enforcement. You can initiate dispatch yourself.
The self-monitored alarm notification includes a pre-authenticated incident link that takes you directly to the alarm incident page. From there, you can either resolve the alarm or find the phone number to call the police in the emergency dispatch information section.
How do I test my alarm system without reaching the limit ?
See configuration tip #4: Unintended alarms from system setup and testing above. Use the Walk Test for sensor testing, and set the response level to Self-Monitored while validating your setup.
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