Texas fire alarm licenses and NICET Level II and III: what the state asks for

How the licensing is organized

The agency's fire alarm licensing page points to Texas Insurance Code Chapter 6002 and Texas Administrative Code Chapter 34.600 as the governing law. A company needs a fire alarm certificate of registration. The agency will not issue an individual license until you work for a registered company, so the employer comes first. The company's designated full-time employee must hold one of three license types: Fire Alarm Technician, Fire Alarm Planning Superintendent or Residential Fire Alarm Superintendent.

The agency takes some applications through an online portal. Individuals need a fingerprint background check on file, and the company files a certificate of liability insurance.

Where NICET is used

ESA is the Electronic Security Association, and the agency treats its Level II and Level III credentials the same way. The monitoring technician license and the residential technician license do not use NICET.

What to send

The agency says to give it a copy of the completion letter from NICET showing you finished NICET's testing requirements for Fire Alarm Systems at Level II or Level III. Its wording is about meeting NICET's exam requirements, so ask whether a full certificate is also needed. If you take your NICET exam through a different provider than the state's test vendor, include a copy of the official score report.

The state tests

The agency's page describes its tests as closed book, with 50 questions each, and a passing score of 70 percent. You can schedule each type of test once a week and no more than three times in 12 months. The technician test draws on NFPA 72 and other adopted standards, and the page says to check the rules for the edition date the state has adopted.

Fees the agency lists

• Individual license (FAL, APS, RAS, single-station residential superintendent, monitoring technician): $120 to start and $200 to renew, on a two-year cycle.
• Company main office registration: $500 to start and $1,000 to renew.

Branch offices, single-station companies and the residential technician license have their own fees on the agency page.

Where our free check fits

If your plan is the NICET Level II route to the technician license, the free 10-question Level II check scores you by domain so you know where to start. If you are aiming at the planning license through Level III, there is a free Level III check. Both are practice for the NICET exams, not for the Texas state tests, and neither predicts a result.

For another state that waives a technician exam for NICET Level II, see the Utah page. For a state that names NICET Level II for designers, see the Nevada page. Other designer-focused state guides are Ohio and Oklahoma. For the full list, see NICET state requirements for fire alarm licenses.

Sources

Show the list

• Fire alarm licensing, Texas Department of Insurance, State Fire Marshal's Office. Checked 26 Oct 2026 (page shows last updated 27 Mar 2026). Used for the statute and rule references, the portal, and the list of license types.
• Fire Alarm registration, license, and test information, Texas Department of Insurance. Checked 26 Oct 2026 (page shows last updated 6 Apr 2026). Used for company and individual requirements, the NICET and ESA test replacements, test rules, the NICET completion letter and the fees.