ARC Monitoring

An ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre) is a dedicated, 24/7‑staffed monitoring centre that your alarm system signals connect to over a dual‑path connection. This means a fault, fire or intruder trigger reaches someone outside working hours, and even where the on‑site sounder alone wouldn't reach anyone. We specify and install the signalling equipment, connect it to an accredited ARC partner, and handle the registration paperwork.

What the connection delivers differs for fire alarms and intruder alarms, covered separately below.

For fire alarms, an ARC connection means fault and fire signals reach someone off‑site as well as on it, which is relevant to BS 5839‑1's standby battery requirement. A monitored connection where the ARC notifies a keyholder on receipt of a fault can justify the shorter 24‑hour standby period instead of 72 hours; see our battery standby calculator for the detail.

Automatic attendance by the Fire & Rescue Service is a separate matter. Each Fire and Rescue Service in the UK sets its own attendance policy, and most have moved away from automatic attendance on an unconfirmed signal for lower and medium‑risk buildings, since the majority of these calls turn out to be false alarms. Several services now require a person on site to call 999 and confirm an actual fire before resources are committed. We confirm what your local service requires as part of specifying the system.

For intruder alarms, ARC monitoring is what makes police response possible: an unmonitored system receives no formal police attendance. Registering a site requires the installation to meet the conditions set out in the National Police Chiefs' Council's security systems policy:

Once that's in place, your installer applies to the local police force on your behalf for a URN (Unique Reference Number), tied to the address and the ARC. A URN makes the premises eligible for a prioritised response to a confirmed activation; attendance is ultimately determined by demand, priorities and resources on the force's side. It is also conditional on keeping a clean record: three false activations in a rolling twelve months is typically enough to have the URN downgraded, with police attendance suspended until the record is clean again. Managing the false‑alarm rate is part of the ongoing service, alongside the initial registration.