For alarm installer workers comp insurance, each state classifies alarm installation in its own way: California publishes a single alarm classification, 7605, through the WCIRB, and Arizona and Nevada use NCCI classifications. Alarm work can cross into electrical work when crews run line-voltage power, and that can change how part of the payroll is reported.
California. Alarm contractors typically hold the C-7 Low Voltage Systems or C-10 Electrical license, and the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services separately requires an Alarm Company Operator license for businesses that install, monitor, service or respond to alarm systems. Coverage is a CSLB requirement once there is a single employee, and the exemption for owner-only shops is set to lapse on January 1, 2028 unless the rules change. The details are on California alarm installer workers comp.
Arizona. Under Arizona Revised Statutes 23-902, a contractor that retains control over a sub's work, where that work belongs to the contractor's own line of business, can be treated as the employer of the sub's crew. An alarm company working under a GC, or hiring its own subs to pull wire, should expect coverage questions in both directions. The owner rules, subs and audit records for Arizona are covered in Arizona alarm installer workers compensation.
Nevada. Nevada's term is industrial insurance. When an alarm company works under a principal contractor, Nevada Revised Statutes 616A.210 deems the alarm company's workers to be that contractor's employees. For policies written from October 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, payroll is counted up to $98,433.60 per employee. The payroll limit, owner rules and audit records for Nevada are covered in Nevada alarm installer workers compensation.
California's published 7605 takes in security alarms and fire or life safety systems, from installation through service and repair, and it has no wage split. Outside California, alarm payroll is classified under NCCI's system; this site doesn't list those codes, and 7605 has no standing in Arizona or Nevada.
The line with electrical work is about duties. Low-voltage alarm devices, panels and their wiring are what the alarm classification describes; new power circuits and line-voltage wiring sit closer to what the electrical classifications describe. The carrier decides how payroll is reported, so describe both kinds of work when you apply. Compare other trades on the workers comp classification codes pages.
Workers comp is limited to injuries your employees suffer on the job. A burglary a system failed to stop, a missed monitoring signal, damage to a customer's ceiling or a crash in a service van typically falls to other policies. For the vehicle side, see commercial auto for alarm installer vans in California.
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In California, the WCIRB publishes 7605 for alarm and life safety system work with no wage split. Arizona and Nevada use NCCI classifications, which this site doesn't publish. Whatever the state, the carrier classifies from the duties your technicians perform.
Typically when crews install line-voltage power or circuits beyond the alarm system itself. In California the electrical classifications split by wage at $40.00 an hour, while 7605 has no split, so the difference can matter. The carrier decides from your work orders and duties.
Usually it also needs an Alarm Company Operator license from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services if it sells on site, installs, monitors, services or responds to alarm systems. The bureau doesn't say how that license fits with a C-7 or C-10, so confirm with both agencies.
No. 7605 is a California classification. Nevada industrial insurance uses NCCI classifications, and a policy for Nevada work is classified under that system by the carrier, based on the work your crew performs there.
With California's 7605 carrying no wage split, alarm quotes usually differ on other things: the payroll estimate, credits and any experience modification, and whether service and monitoring techs are counted the same way as installers. A quote that underestimates payroll can turn into an audit bill, so compare the assumptions and the support each carrier offers, which varies by program. See comparing the cheapest workers comp quotes.
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Reviewed by David Gleason, Principal, on .
Next Level Experience. Insurance Done Right.
Alarm installer workers comp for security and fire alarm contractors in three states.
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