To help with false alarm reduction, Texas has a mandatory default minimum 30-second delay from the time the siren sounds for a burglary alarm until the time the alarm system sends us a signal (this does not apply to emergency signals).

This law comes from the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC). More information on Texas laws regarding alarms should be available from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Local police departments typically do not know anything about this requirement. Here’s information regarding the requirements:

The 30-second window from when the alarm sounds until it sends is referred to as the abort window. The slide show says it can be anywhere from 15-45 seconds, but Texas law is that it is a minimum of 30 seconds.

https://www.dps.texas.gov/ – This is the Texas Department of Public Safety. You can search for “Occupations Code” and find a pdf link to TEXAS OCCUPATIONS CODE CHAPTER 1702. Within that pdf file, under CHAPTER 1702. PRIVATE SECURITY, Sec. 1702.287. DETECTION DEVICE CONTROL PANELS; MINIMUM STANDARDS, is the law: An alarm systems company may not install any alarm system on or after January 1, 2007, that includes a detection device control panel unless the control panel meets or exceeds the standards of the American National Standards Institute for false alarm reduction.