Glossary

The specific year of an outside standard that 28 TAC § 34.607 names. It governs until the rule is amended to name a different one — a newer edition published elsewhere changes nothing in Texas by itself.

A rule giving legal force to a document published by somebody else, by naming it and its edition rather than reproducing its text.

The firm's registration certificate. Its number appears on the firm's vehicles in the format TX ACR-number, and each licensed act is performed under a particular firm's number. It is not a certificate issued for a job.

The condition on which an adopted standard yields to Texas law. Where a standard conflicts with the subchapter, Insurance Code Chapter 6002, or another state statute, the Texas text governs — to the extent of the conflict and no further.

The local body with regulatory authority over the building — abbreviated AHJ in the trade and in the rules. It accepts systems, receives certificate copies and label notices, and decides whether a repaired system must be brought to current code.

The certificate every separate office location of a registered firm must hold, other than the location named on the firm's own certificate. It expires and renews on the main office's date.

One of the forms of administrative action named in 28 TAC § 34.625. It addresses the conduct rather than the credential.

A location where fire alarm signals are received. Each central station location of a registered firm must employ at least one technician licensee; the dispatchers working there do not each need one.

The credential a firm must hold to engage in the business at all. It is not transferable, is invalidated by a total change of ownership, and operating without one is a criminal offense.

The licensee, licensed under the certificate number of the firm responsible for the installation, who must be present for the final acceptance test before certification.

Programs the commissioner may certify under Insurance Code § 6002.159, in which participation is VOLUNTARY. Nothing in this corpus makes hours a condition of renewal, which is not the case in every state or every Texas trade.

The one full-time licensed employee a registered firm names on its registration application and renewal. An individual may not serve as designated employee for more than one registered firm.

The standard 28 TAC § 34.616 sets for installation and for maintenance or servicing, by one of the named license classes and for the work that license permits. The statute's construction exemption uses “direct supervision” WITHOUT “on-site” — a different phrase, in a different instrument, for a different situation.

The request a natural person must submit to begin the application process. Eligibility for any fire alarm license starts here, not with the form.

The license class carrying every verb the technician class carries, plus PLANNING. It may also act as a fire alarm technician or a residential fire alarm superintendent.

The license class for installing, inspecting, servicing, testing, maintaining, monitoring and certifying, with no property limit — and no planning authority at all.

The phrase the monitoring definition turns on — signals received by, or communicated to, such a center in Texas or serving property in Texas. The statute uses the term and does not define it. Its ordinary reading is the entity that receives alarm signals so a fire response can follow, but that is a reading rather than a sourced definition, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office is who to ask where the answer decides whether a firm is in the monitoring business.

The blue label applied after the inspection and testing of a system, recording the type of inspection performed. It remains at least five years, and on a new installation may only be applied after the local AHJ has accepted the system.

The initial placement of equipment, OR the extension, modification, or alteration of equipment already in place. The second half is why a small change to a working system is regulated installation work.

The document the licensee completes on the state fire marshal's format after an installation, modification or addition outside a one- or two-family residence. It identifies the applicable standards and certifies compliance with them.

The white label affixed inside the control panel cover after new work or an extension, alteration or modification, naming both the installing licensee and whoever planned the system.

The certificate the department may issue to a firm whose business is restricted to monitoring.

Keeping a device in a condition of repair that provides performance AS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED OR INTENDED — a standard set by a design the servicing firm may never have seen.

The receipt of fire alarm and supervisory signals, or the communication of those signals to a fire service communications center in Texas or serving property in Texas. Receipt alone is enough.

The rule's shorthand for anyone the Insurance Code § 6002.155 exemption list covers. Nothing is applied for and nothing is issued — and the exemption reaches license requirements only, never the adopted standards.

The drawings showing what was actually built, including the sequence of operation, provided to the building owner. Later modifications must be legibly noted on them and provided to the owner; the rule does not name who owes that.

The label attached outside the cover where a system, or any part of it, is inoperable, has a fault condition, or is impaired from normal operation. An inoperable system brings immediate oral notice and written notice by the next business day.

An individual or organization holding a registration certificate. A licensee may not engage in any act of the business except as its employee or agent, and it may not register without a licensed employee.

A class name that appears in 28 TAC § 34.620's list of what an installation label must carry, and that 28 TAC § 34.611 does not issue. The residential planning class the rules DO issue is the residential fire alarm superintendent. Which the label rule means is not settled by these sources.

The broadest residential class: planning, installing, certifying, inspecting, testing, servicing, monitoring and maintaining in single-family or two-family residences. It may also act as a fire alarm technician.

The residential class for installing, certifying, inspecting and servicing — but NOT planning. Entered through an approved training course, and it may supervise only in a single-family or two-family dwelling.

What a change in a licensee's name, mailing address, or employing firm requires, on written notification within 14 days with the fee.

The white label completed after ANY service, whose signature certifies that the service complies with the requirements of law. It remains at least two years, and it is the label that clears a yellow or red tag.

Inspection, maintenance, repair, or testing of a fire alarm or fire detection device. Because the statute defines it this way, a class carrying servicing carries inspection and testing with it.

A detector that is not part of, or connected to, any other detection device or system. Interconnecting two detectors is a connection, which puts the work outside the single station license class.

The forum for a disciplinary hearing where the state fire marshal proposes to suspend, revoke or refuse to renew. The hearing is not before the office that brought the case.

One of the two signal types the monitoring definition turns on. The statute uses the term and does not define it; its ordinary trade reading is a signal reporting a condition affecting a system’s readiness rather than a fire, which is a reading rather than a sourced definition. What the corpus does fix is that receiving one is monitoring, as much as receiving an alarm signal is.

The rule that Insurance Code Chapter 6002 and its rules apply the same way throughout Texas, so a municipal or county ordinance inconsistent with them is void.

The label attached outside the cover where a system does not comply with applicable codes and adopted standards, OR is not being tested or maintained according to them. It is not for new work, and not for a system that is inoperable or faulted.