Title 5
Businesses and Professions

Chapter 57
Burglar and Hold-Up Alarm Businesses

R.I. Gen. Laws § 5-57-29

§ 5-57-29. I.D. cards — Requirement — Application — Issuance or denial.

(a) It is unlawful and punishable as provided in § 5-57-41 for any individual to function as an alarm agent or to perform the duties described in subsections (b) and (c) of this section without first obtaining an identification card (referred to as “I.D.” card).

(b) Owners, principal corporate officers, partners, and managers of all alarm businesses shall be required to obtain I.D. cards if they directly engage in selling, installing, altering, servicing, moving, maintaining, repairing, replacing, monitoring, responding to, or causing others to respond to, alarm systems within the state.

(c) Any individual engaged in the alarm business or employed by or associated with an alarm business within the state who is not an alarm agent but who has access to confidential information relating to a customer or subscriber of an alarm business or who monitors radio equipment used in connection with an alarm business must also obtain an I.D. card.

(d) Individuals required to obtain an I.D. card under this section shall file a joint application for a temporary and permanent I.D. card and upon completion, the alarm business shall immediately forward the application form to the licensing authority and shall retain a copy of the application in its files. Alarm businesses shall issue temporary I.D. cards in the manner prescribed in subsection (g) of this section until the I.D. card applicant obtains a permanent I.D. card from the licensing authority.

(e) A person engaged in the alarm business on September 1, 1977, has authority to, and is required to, issue to its alarm agents or other individuals required to obtain I.D. cards under this section temporary I.D. cards (as provided in subsection (g) of this section) while the application of that person for an alarm business license is pending. If that alarm business application is finally denied, the alarm business no longer has authority to issue temporary I.D. cards. All temporary I.D. cards issued by that alarm business shall become void and shall be returned by the temporary I.D. cardholders to the issuer.

(f) Application for an I.D. card shall be on a form prescribed by the licensing authority and shall include the following:

(1) The I.D. card applicant’s full name and any other names previously used, current residence and business addresses, and telephone numbers;

(2) Date and place of birth;

(3) Whether the I.D. card applicant is applying as an alarm agent or as an individual required to obtain an I.D. card under subsection (b) or (c) of this section;

(4) A list of all felony and misdemeanor convictions of the I.D. card applicant in any jurisdiction;

(5) Two (2) classifiable sets of fingerprints recorded in the manner that may be specified by the licensing authority;

(6) Two (2) recent photographs of a type prescribed by the licensing authority;

(7) The name and address of the alarm business that employs or will employ or engage the I.D. card applicant;

(8) The application shall include a statement by the alarm business that employs or will employ the I.D. card applicant or engage the I.D. card applicant as to whether that alarm business:

(i) Is licensed under this chapter;

(ii) Has a license application pending before the licensing authority; or

(iii) Is unlicensed and does not have an application pending before the licensing authority but was engaged in the alarm business within the state on September 1, 1977, and intends to file a timely application for an alarm business license under this chapter;

(9) A statement by the alarm business as to whether it has issued a temporary I.D. card to the I.D. card applicant. If the alarm business has issued a temporary I.D. card, the alarm business shall state the date of issuance of the card and the card number;

(10) The I.D. card applicant’s employment record for the prior three (3) years;

(11) A statement whether the applicant has been denied an alarm agent, guard, or private investigator license, permit, or I.D. card, or business license for an alarm business, guard, or private investigator business in any jurisdiction and whether that license, permit, or I.D. card has been revoked;

(12) A statement that the I.D. card applicant will inform the licensing authority of any material change in the information stated in the I.D. card applicant’s form within ten (10) days after that change; and

(13) Any other information that the licensing authority may reasonably deem necessary to determine whether an applicant for an I.D. card meets the requirements of this chapter.

(g) A temporary I.D. card shall be issued by an alarm business licensed under this chapter to any of its alarm agents or any other individual required to obtain an I.D. card prior to the issuance of a permanent I.D. card for this individual by the licensing authority. The form for temporary I.D. cards shall be at the discretion of the alarm business, but shall only be with the approval of the licensing authority. The form for permanent I.D. cards shall be prescribed by the licensing authority and shall include the following information concerning the I.D. cardholder:

(1) Full name and signature;

(2) An I.D. card number and date of issuance of the card;

(3) Date and place of birth;

(4) Name and address of the alarm business that employs the applicant or with which the applicant is associated;

(5) Date of commencement of employment or association with the alarm business; and

(6) A recent photograph of the I.D. cardholder.

(h) Before issuing a permanent I.D. card, the licensing authority shall require the prospective I.D. cardholder to submit, on forms provided by the licensing authority, the names and addresses of two (2) references who can verify the applicant’s good moral character and competency to install alarms or alarm systems and the names and addresses of employers of the prospective I.D. cardholder for the past three (3) years, and shall make reasonable and prudent inquiries to determine whether the applicant meets the requirements of this section. If the licensing authority has reason to believe that the individual required to obtain a permanent I.D. card does not meet the requirements of this section, no permanent I.D. card shall be issued by the licensing authority.

(i) Any alarm business issuing a temporary I.D. card shall promptly report to the licensing authority the name, address, and I.D. card number of the individual to whom it has issued a temporary I.D. card.

(j) The temporary or permanent I.D. card shall be carried by an individual required to obtain an I.D. card under this chapter whenever that individual is engaged in the alarm business and shall be exhibited upon request.

(k) Application for an I.D. card to the licensing authority shall be accompanied by a thirty-dollar ($30.00) fee to cover the cost of processing the application and investigating the applicant. The fees collected shall be paid into the general fund.

(l) The licensing authority may refuse to issue an I.D. card if the I.D. card applicant has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor in any jurisdiction and the licensing authority finds that the conviction reflects unfavorably on the fitness of the applicant to engage in the alarm business or to be employed by an alarm business.

(m) The permanent I.D. card issued by the licensing authority shall include the items listed in subsection (g) of this section and the expiration date of the I.D. card.

History of Section.
P.L. 1977, ch. 248, § 1; P.L. 1978, ch. 119, § 1; P.L. 1979, ch. 219, § 1; P.L. 2004, ch. 595, art. 30, § 7.