Checking Us Out? Good.
You should verify any company you're about to give keys, codes, and a floor plan to. Here's exactly how — the same checks apply to us and to everyone else.
Alarm companies ask for an unusual amount of trust: access to your house, a map of where the sensors aren't, codes, and a monthly payment for a service you hope never activates. Searching "is DCS legit" before signing anything is the correct instinct.
So rather than a page of assurances, here are five checks you can run in about ten minutes — none of which require taking our word for anything.
Five Checks Worth Running
Look up the Florida license
Florida licenses alarm system contractors through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and every license is publicly searchable at myfloridalicense.com. Ask any company for its license number and check it against the name on the contract. A company that hesitates to hand over the number has told you something useful.
Confirm there's a real office
Not a P.O. box, not a suite number that turns out to be a mail drop. Ours is at 128 W. Lutz Lake Fern Rd, Lutz, FL 33548 — you can look at it on a map, and you can drive to it. This matters most in year eight, when a sensor fails and the question is whether anyone is still around to fix it.
Ask who actually monitors the alarm
Ask directly: “Do you monitor in house, or is it contracted out?” Many local companies are dealers who sell and install, then pass monitoring to a national wholesale center. That is a legitimate business model, but you should know which one you are buying, because it determines who picks up when your alarm goes off.
Read the contract before the price
Term length, early-termination fee, auto-renewal, and who owns the equipment. A lower monthly rate on a five-year agreement frequently costs more in total than a higher rate you can leave. These terms are where much of the industry's profit lives, which is why the monthly is advertised and the term is not.
Check how long they've been at it
The alarm industry has heavy turnover, and a company that has held one name in one market for a long time is a meaningful signal. DCSI has operated under the same name from the same area since 2004.
What Customers Have Said
Comments collected from customers over the years. For independent reviews, check our Google Business Profile and other third-party listings directly — a company quoting its own reviews is evidence, but it is not the same kind of evidence.
“DCSI installed a home security system for my family last summer. They were a pleasure to work with; they really listened to what our safety concerns were and then made recommendations that were specific to us.”
“Nelson is someone I have enjoyed doing business with for over eight years. I trust him implicitly and have always received the best value and service available.”
“Nelson was extremely knowledgeable and professional. The technician was professional and timely. The system is easy to use and gives my family a feeling of safety and security.”
“DCSI Security has helped me with my home security needs. They have always been prompt, courteous, professional and reliable. I have referred many of my family and friends.”
One Thing to Watch For
If someone knocks on your door and tells you your alarm company has gone out of business, been bought, or is "no longer servicing this area," and offers to upgrade your system on the spot — stop and call your provider directly using a number you already have. That claim is a long-running sales tactic, and homeowners who sign at the door frequently end up with a second monitoring agreement while the first one is still running.
Nobody should be modifying your panel without an appointment you made. Our number is (813) 949-6500 — call it any time you want to confirm whether someone at your door actually works with us.
Verification Questions
Is DCS Security a legitimate company?
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DCSI, Inc. — commonly shortened to DCS — is an independently owned Florida security and sound company that has operated from Lutz since 2004, at 128 W. Lutz Lake Fern Rd, Lutz, FL 33548, reachable at (813) 949-6500. Rather than ask you to take that on faith, this page lists the checks you can run yourself: the state license lookup, the physical office, the monitoring structure, and the contract terms. Run them on us and on anyone else you're considering.
How do I check if a Florida alarm company is licensed?
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Search the company name or license number at myfloridalicense.com, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's public license portal. Alarm system contractors are licensed by the state, and the record shows the license status and the qualifying name. Ask for the number rather than guessing at the search — and confirm the licensed entity matches the name on your contract, which is not always the name on the truck.
Does DCS have reviews I can read?
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Customer comments collected over the years appear on this page and on the about page. We deliberately don't publish an aggregate star rating in our page code unless it reflects a rating that's actually verifiable on a live profile — fabricated rating markup is both a structured-data violation and a straightforward misrepresentation. For independent reviews, check the Google Business Profile and any other third-party listings directly.
What should I be suspicious of when hiring an alarm company?
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High-pressure door-to-door sales, particularly anyone claiming your current provider has “gone out of business” or been “taken over” — that is a long-running tactic for getting homeowners to sign a new agreement at the door. Also: a monthly price quoted without a stated term, “free” equipment that turns out to be proprietary, and any reluctance to give a license number. Never let someone who arrives unannounced modify your panel.
Is DCS affiliated with other companies named DCS?
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No. “DCS” is a common set of initials used by unrelated businesses in other states and in entirely different industries. DCSI, Inc. of Lutz, Florida is not affiliated with any of them, and a review or complaint about a differently-named DCS elsewhere is about a different company.
More on DCS
DCS Security Systems
What a DCS alarm system includes, how an install actually runs, and what the equipment does.
DCS Alarm Monitoring
The in-house monitoring center in Lutz — what happens in the first ninety seconds after a signal.
DCS Camera Systems
CCTV and IP cameras, recording and retention, remote viewing, and video verification of alarms.
DCS Commercial Security
Business alarm systems, access control, gates, and community security for HOAs and CDDs.
DCS Phone Number & Office
Phone, email, address, hours, and which number to call for a new quote versus an existing system.
DCS Customer Service
Already have a DCS system: service calls, false alarms, call-list changes, moving, and trouble codes.
DCS App & Remote Access
Arming from your phone, finding which app your panel uses, and what to do when a login fails.
What Does DCS Stand For?
The name, where it comes from, and the many unrelated things also called DCS.
Ask Us Anything on That List
License number, who monitors the alarm, contract terms, equipment ownership. All answerable on the phone before you schedule a thing.