A wholesale central station monitors your subscribers' alarms under your company name, so you keep the customer and the billing without running a UL-listed facility. (S6) Pick one with redundant centers, the listings your AHJ and insurers ask for, and dealer tools you will use every day. (S1, S2) For the insurance side of offering monitoring, see Low-voltage insurance carriers and minimum coverage. For finding sub work, see Companies that use low-voltage subcontractors.
Quick comparison
Flag| 12 stations | Affiliated Monitoring | AvantGuard (Becklar) | COPS Monitoring | Rapid Response Monitoring | Security Central | UCC (United Central Control) | Quick Response | Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS) | Dynamark Monitoring (Becklar) | Alarm Monitoring Services (AMS) | Clear Response Monitoring | CSA Monitoring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HQ | Union, NJ | Ogden, UT | Williamstown, NJ | Syracuse, NY | Statesville, NC | San Antonio, TX | Cleveland, OH | Longwood, FL | Hagerstown, MD | Monroe, LA | Baton Rouge, LA | Lansing, MI |
| Centers | Union, NJ; Houston, TX | Eight hot-redundant centers | Williamstown, NJ; Lewisville, TX; Boca Raton, FL | Syracuse, NY; Corona, CA; Henderson, NV | Knoxville, TN; Anderson, SC; Statesville, NC | San Antonio, TX; Lewisville, TX | Cleveland, OH | Three redundant centers | Two UL-listed centers | Monroe, LA; Elmer, LA | Louisiana and Michigan | Michigan |
| UL listed | Yes (UL 827, 827B, 2050) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TMA Five Diamond | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not published | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not published | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PERS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not published | Not published | Not published | Yes | Yes |
Scroll sideways to see all 12 stations.
vs
Affiliated Monitoring
AvantGuard (Becklar)
COPS Monitoring
Rapid Response Monitoring
Security Central
UCC (United Central Control)
Quick Response
Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS)
Dynamark Monitoring (Becklar)
Alarm Monitoring Services (AMS)
Clear Response Monitoring
CSA Monitoring
HQ
Union, NJ
Ogden, UT
Williamstown, NJ
Syracuse, NY
Statesville, NC
San Antonio, TX
Cleveland, OH
Longwood, FL
Hagerstown, MD
Monroe, LA
Baton Rouge, LA
Lansing, MI
Centers
Union, NJ; Houston, TX
Eight hot-redundant centers
Williamstown, NJ; Lewisville, TX; Boca Raton, FL
Syracuse, NY; Corona, CA; Henderson, NV
Knoxville, TN; Anderson, SC; Statesville, NC
San Antonio, TX; Lewisville, TX
Cleveland, OH
Three redundant centers
Two UL-listed centers
Monroe, LA; Elmer, LA
Louisiana and Michigan
Michigan
UL listed
Yes (UL 827, 827B, 2050)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TMA Five Diamond
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not published
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not published
Not published
Not published
Not published
Not published
Video
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not published
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
PERS
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Not published
Not published
Not published
Yes
Yes
Comparing 2 of 12 stations. See all in a wide table
Source: S1 unless the station's own section cites another source
How to choose a central station
Flag- Redundancy: look for multiple geographically separate centers with hot redundancy or load sharing, so one site going down does not drop signals. (S1, S4, S6)
- Listings: UL 827 covers central station alarm services; UL 827B adds video monitoring; UL 2050 covers high-security government intrusion work. Ask for the certificate for each center. (S3)
- Five Diamond: TMA grants it yearly to centers with NRTL inspections (UL, FM or ETL) and 100% of operators trained through TMA's online courses. (S2)
- Receiver and format support: confirm POTS, TCP/IP, radio and cellular paths for the panels and communicators you install. (S1)
- False alarm handling: ask about enhanced call verification, two-way audio and video verification. (S1)
- Video verification: check which video platforms they integrate with, if you sell camera-verified alarms. (S6)
- Fire and AHJ: fire accounts may need FM approval or local approval, such as FDNY in New York City. (S3)
- Contract terms and buyouts: ask how account migration works and what onboarding support they give when you move accounts from another station. (S4)
Central stations
FlagAffiliated Monitoring
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Affiliated Monitoring, founded 1977 (S4) |
| HQ and centers | Affiliated North in Union, NJ (82,000 sq ft headquarters) and Affiliated South in Houston, TX; fully mirrored, load sharing (S4) |
| UL listings | UL 827, UL 827B (video) and UL 2050; FM Approved; FDNY approved for fire in New York City (S3) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Yes (S3) |
| Services | Security, life safety, PERS and IoT monitoring; interactive video monitoring (S4) |
| Receivers and formats | Redundant receivers covering nearly all digital, cellular and IP formats (S4) |
| Automation platform | Not published |
| Dealer program | Onboarding team for account migration, partner support with Tier 1 and Tier 2 signaling support (S4) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | https://www.affiliated.com |
AvantGuard (Becklar)
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | AvantGuard Monitoring Centers, a Becklar company (S5, S7) |
| HQ and centers | Ogden, UT; eight hot-redundant call centers (S5) |
| UL listings | UL Listed, FM Approved (S5) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Yes (S5) |
| Services | Security, fire, PERS and IoT monitoring, cloud monitoring, video verification and interactive video (S5, S6) |
| Receivers and formats | Not published |
| Automation platform | Not published. Video verification uses Immix and CHeKT, with Calipsa analytics. (S6) |
| Dealer program | Wholesale monitoring answered in your company name; hybrid partnerships for dealers with their own central station; Dealer Care onboarding and a Dealer Dashboard (S5, S6) |
| Pricing | Not published; a dealer pricing calculator is on its site (S6) |
| Contact | Office (877) 206-9141 · https://www.agmonitoring.com (S6) |
COPS Monitoring
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | COPS Monitoring (S1) |
| HQ and centers | Williamstown, NJ; centers in Williamstown, NJ, Lewisville, TX and Boca Raton, FL; redundant load sharing (S1) |
| UL listings | UL Listed, FM Approved, IQ Certified, SOC 2 (S1) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Yes (S1) |
| Services | Fire and life safety, PERS and mPERS, elevator phones, environmental, access control, video surveillance, GPS, virtual guard tour; video, two-way audio and enhanced call verification; guard response (S1) |
| Receivers and formats | POTS, TCP/IP, radio, cellular (S1) |
| Automation platform | Not published |
| Dealer program | Funding/loan programs, billing/collections, lead generation, answering service, data entry, dealer mobile app, monitoring software as a service (S1) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | (800) 367-2677 · https://www.copsmonitoring.com (S1) |
Rapid Response Monitoring
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Rapid Response Monitoring (S1) |
| HQ and centers | Syracuse, NY; centers in Syracuse, NY, Corona, CA and Henderson, NV; redundant load sharing (S1) |
| UL listings | UL Listed, FM Approved, IQ Certified, TMA AVS-01, SOC 2 (S1) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Not published |
| Services | Fire and life safety, PERS and mPERS, elevator phones, environmental, access control, video surveillance, GPS, virtual guard tour; video, two-way audio and enhanced call verification (S1) |
| Receivers and formats | POTS, TCP/IP, cellular (S1) |
| Automation platform | Not published |
| Dealer program | Billing/collections, lead generation, answering service, data entry, dealer mobile app, monitoring software as a service (S1) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | (800) 558-7767 · sales@rrms.com · https://www.rrms.com (S1) |
Security Central
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Security Central (S1) |
| HQ and centers | Statesville, NC; centers in Knoxville, TN, Anderson, SC and Statesville, NC; redundant load sharing (S1) |
| UL listings | UL Listed, FM Approved, IQ Certified, TMA AVS-01, SOC 2 (S1) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Yes (S1) |
| Services | Fire and life safety, PERS and mPERS, elevator phones, environmental, access control, video surveillance, GPS, virtual guard tour; video, two-way audio and enhanced call verification (S1) |
| Receivers and formats | POTS, TCP/IP, cellular, radio (S1) |
| Automation platform | Not published |
| Dealer program | Billing/collections, answering service, data entry, dealer mobile app, monitoring software as a service (S1) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | (800) 560-6568 · https://www.security-central.com (S1) |
UCC (United Central Control)
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | UCC (United Central Control) (S1) |
| HQ and centers | San Antonio, TX; centers in San Antonio, TX and Lewisville, TX; redundant load sharing (S1) |
| UL listings | UL Listed, FM Approved, SOC 2 (S1) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Yes (S1) |
| Services | Fire and life safety, PERS and mPERS, elevator phones, environmental, access control, video surveillance, GPS, virtual guard tour; video, two-way audio and enhanced call verification; guard response (S1) |
| Receivers and formats | POTS, TCP/IP, radio, cellular (S1) |
| Automation platform | Not published |
| Dealer program | Funding/loan programs, answering service, data entry, dealer mobile app, monitoring software as a service (S1) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | (888) TEAM-UCC (832-6822) · https://www.teamucc.com (S1) |
Quick Response
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Quick Response (S1) |
| HQ and centers | Cleveland, OH; redundant stations and load sharing (S1) |
| UL listings | UL Listed, TMA AVS-01 (S1) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Yes (S1) |
| Services | Smoke, heat, CO and gas; PERS and mPERS, elevator phones, environmental, access control, video surveillance, GPS, virtual guard tour; video, two-way audio and enhanced call verification (S1) |
| Receivers and formats | POTS, TCP/IP, radio, cellular (S1) |
| Automation platform | Not published |
| Dealer program | Funding/loan programs, billing/collections, answering service, data entry, dealer mobile app, monitoring software as a service (S1) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | (800) 462-5353 · https://www.quickresponse.net (S1) |
Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS)
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS), started in 1984 as Computerized Monitoring Services (S9) |
| HQ and centers | 715 State Road 434 West, Suite J, Longwood, FL 32750; three fully redundant centers with automatic failover and load balancing (S8, S9) |
| UL listings | UL Listed and FM Approved (S8) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Not published |
| Services | Wholesale alarm monitoring; fully integrated Alarm.com central station (S8, S9) |
| Receivers and formats | Not published |
| Automation platform | Not published. Dealers use the CMS Compass portal, desktop or mobile. (S8) |
| Dealer program | Over 3,000 dealers; business development rep, dealer support department, dealer equipment pricing and customizable end-user marketing materials (S8) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | (407) 260-2712 · https://www.cmsn.com (S8) |
Dynamark Monitoring (Becklar)
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Dynamark Monitoring, acquired by Becklar in September 2025; the name is moving to the Becklar brand (S7) |
| HQ and centers | Hagerstown, MD (first UL-listed center, 2010) and Corona, CA (added 2024) (S7) |
| UL listings | Two UL-listed centers (S7) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Not published |
| Services | Video, fire, intrusion, environmental monitoring (S7) |
| Receivers and formats | Not published |
| Automation platform | Not published. Dealer tools include Instant Connect and InSite. (S7) |
| Dealer program | Access to Becklar dealer tools (S7) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | https://becklar.com (S7) |
Alarm Monitoring Services (AMS)
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Alarm Monitoring Services (S1) |
| HQ and centers | Monroe, LA; centers in Monroe, LA and Elmer, LA (S1) |
| UL listings | UL Listed (S1) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Not published |
| Services | Fire and life safety, emergency call buttons, elevator phones, environmental, access control; video and enhanced call verification (S1) |
| Receivers and formats | POTS, TCP/IP, radio, cellular (S1) |
| Automation platform | Not published |
| Dealer program | Funding/loan programs, billing/collections, lead generation, answering service, data entry (S1) |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | (877) 740-0283 · https://www.getAMS.com (S1) |
Clear Response Monitoring
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Clear Response Monitoring LLC (S1) |
| HQ and centers | Baton Rouge, LA; centers in Louisiana and Michigan (S1) |
| UL listings | UL Listed (S1) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Not published |
| Services | Fire and life safety, PERS and mPERS, video and two-way audio verification (S1) |
| Receivers and formats | Not published |
| Automation platform | Not published |
| Dealer program | Not published |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | (833) 582-5044 · sales@clearrm.com · https://www.clearrm.com (S1) |
CSA Monitoring
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | CSA Monitoring LLC (S1) |
| HQ and centers | Lansing, MI; centers in Michigan (S1) |
| UL listings | UL Listed (S1) |
| TMA Five Diamond | Not published |
| Services | Fire and life safety, PERS and mPERS, video and two-way audio verification (S1) |
| Receivers and formats | Not published |
| Automation platform | Not published |
| Dealer program | Not published |
| Pricing | Not published |
| Contact | (833) 623-7740 · https://www.csamonitoring.com (S1) |
Starting a low voltage business? Follow How to Start a Low Voltage Company for the LLC, license, insurance and first jobs.
Sources
- S1Security Business: 2026 Third Party and Wholesale Central Station Monitoring Provider Directory (Oct 2026, pp. 36-37)img.securityinfowatch.com · pulled Oct 25, 2026
- S2TMA: Five Diamond Designationtma.us · pulled Oct 25, 2026
- S3Affiliated Monitoring: Credentials and Licenseswww.affiliated.com · pulled Oct 25, 2026
- S4Affiliated Monitoring: Company Overviewwww.affiliated.com · pulled Oct 25, 2026
- S5AvantGuard: A Monitoring Center for a Connected Worldwww.agmonitoring.com · pulled Oct 25, 2026
- S6AvantGuard: Wholesale Security Monitoringwww.agmonitoring.com · pulled Oct 25, 2026
- S7Becklar: Becklar Adds Dynamark Monitoring (Sept 3, 2025)becklar.com · pulled Oct 25, 2026
- S8TMA Member Directory: Criticom Monitoring Services (CMS)my.tma.us · pulled Oct 25, 2026
- S9CMS: About CMScmsn.com · pulled Oct 25, 2026
FAQs
What is wholesale monitoring?
A central station monitors your accounts and answers under your company name, so you skip building your own center. (S6)
Does Five Diamond matter?
It shows the center passed NRTL inspections and trained all of its operators through TMA, and it is renewed every year. (S2)
What is UL 827B?
The UL listing that adds video monitoring requirements on top of UL 827. (S3)
Can I keep my own central station and still use a wholesaler?
Yes. AvantGuard offers hybrid partnerships for dealers that run their own center. (S6)
Who answers fire alarms in New York City?
Only FDNY-approved centers, such as Affiliated Monitoring. (S3)
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