In Illinois, cameras and door access may be installed for others only by a licensed private alarm contractor or by people working for a licensed private alarm contractor agency. The reason is that Illinois law makes it unlawful to sell, install or service an alarm system for others without a license from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, IDFPR, and the law’s definition of an alarm system names video surveillance and electronic access control outright. Pace Systems holds Illinois Private Alarm Contractor Agency License No. 127001360, and it is the license we install under.
What counts as an alarm system under Illinois law?
The Private Detective, Private Alarm, Private Security, Fingerprint Vendor, and Locksmith Act of 2004 defines an alarm system in Section 5-10 as “any system, including an electronic access control system, a surveillance video system, a security video system, a burglar alarm system, a fire alarm system,” or any other electronic system that signals intrusion, entry, theft, fire, vandalism, escape or trespass. The same definition also takes in emergency communication and mass notification systems.
Because the definition is written this way, a camera system, a card-reader door and an intrusion alarm are all alarm systems in the eyes of the Act, and Section 10-5 makes it unlawful to act as a private alarm contractor, or to advertise as one, without the license.
The Act’s definition of a private alarm contractor covers anyone who “submits a bid to sell, install, design, monitor, maintain, test, inspect, alter, repair, replace, or service” those systems, which means a company needs the license to bid on the work, before it ever installs a camera.
Does an electrical license cover cameras and door access?
It doesn’t, because Section 20-5 exempts a licensed electrical contractor only for fire alarm work: one who services fire alarms on an emergency call, or who sells and installs “only fire alarm systems and not alarm or other security related electronic systems.” So if an electrical contractor installs cameras or door access for others, it needs the alarm contractor license as well.
We hold both: the Illinois alarm contractor agency license No. 127001360, and registrations for electrical work with the City of Chicago and with Cook County, and our installers are members of IBEW Local 134.
How do you check an installer’s license?
Look the company up on IDFPR’s License Look-Up, keeping in mind that in the professional regulation search, alarm contractors are filed under the license type Detective Board. Enter the company’s legal business name or its license number, and the result should read Licensed Private Alarm Contractor Agency, with the status Active.
As of October 22, 2026, our record reads PACE SYSTEMS INC, Naperville, license 127001360, Licensed Private Alarm Contractor Agency, Active, and we recommend checking the number of any installer the same way before you sign.
Why is the license number on an installer’s website?
It’s there because the Act requires it. Section 35-15 says no licensee may knowingly advertise its services without its license number in the advertisement, and the Act’s definition of an advertisement includes a website, which is why we print No. 127001360 in the footer of every page of our website.
If a camera installer’s website shows no license number, look the company up before you open its bid.
What else should a bid ask a security installer for?
A bid can ask for four things the Act already requires of a licensed agency, and if the installer is licensed, it should already have them.
- The licensee-in-charge: Section 20-15 makes a full-time Illinois licensed private alarm contractor, the licensee-in-charge, a condition of the agency license.
- Proof of insurance: Section 20-10 requires general liability insurance before a license is issued, and the license is cancelled if the insurance lapses.
- Registered technicians: Section 35-30 requires every employee of a licensed agency, other than exempt staff such as delivery drivers and reception, to apply for a permanent employee registration card, so ask that the technicians on your site hold one.
- Trained technicians: Section 20-20 requires 20 hours of basic training within 30 days of employment for an alarm agency’s employees.
For our part, we send our W-9, insurance certificate and MBE certificates the same day they are asked for.
What does Pace install under its license?
We’ve standardized on Genetec and Axis for video surveillance and door access, and we install HID, Aiphone and Allegion hardware. The work also includes intercoms and door stations, paging and mass notification, and intrusion alarms within larger jobs, and around Chicago our IBEW Local 134 crews run the cable and the power.
For the Village of Hoffman Estates, we installed video surveillance that includes a mobile camera trailer built to the village’s list of requirements. Public buyers can buy these systems from us on TIPS contract 260202, which Can a city or school district buy IT without a bid? explains.
Security systems from Pace has the brands and the kinds of work, and Pace’s licenses and numbers lists the license with the rest. If you would like a job priced, ask Pace for a quote.
Questions
Do you need a license to install security cameras in Illinois?
Yes, because the Act’s definition of an alarm system includes surveillance and security video systems, and selling, installing or servicing one for others takes a private alarm contractor license from IDFPR. A licensed electrical contractor is exempt only for fire alarm work.
How do I look up an Illinois alarm contractor license?
Search IDFPR’s License Look-Up under the license type Detective Board, by the company’s legal business name or license number, and the record should read Licensed Private Alarm Contractor Agency, with the status Active.
Is Pace licensed to install security systems in Illinois?
Yes, Pace Systems holds Illinois Private Alarm Contractor Agency License No. 127001360, and our installers are members of IBEW Local 134.
Does the license number have to appear in an installer’s advertising?
Yes, Section 35-15 of the Act requires a licensee’s license number in its advertising, and the Act counts a website as advertising.