2.4 Ownership Changes, Officer Changes and Revised Certificates

Why This Section Matters

This is the rule people break by accident. A buyer closes on an alarm company on Friday and keeps installing on Monday under the seller's ACR number — which no longer exists. Section 34.610(d)(1) is one of the very few Texas fire alarm deadlines that runs before an event rather than after it, and that inversion is exactly what the exam tests.

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1. Total Change of Ownership (§ 34.610(d)(1))

"The total change of a firm's ownership invalidates the current certificate. To ensure continuance of the business, a complete application for a new certificate must be submitted to the state fire marshal at least 14 days before the change."

Three things to lock down:

1. Invalidates, not "suspends" and not "transfers." Section 6002.161 already says a certificate is not transferable.
2. It is a new certificate application — Form SF031 with all fees, insurance evidence, corporate documents, and the designated employee — not a revision.
3. The filing is at least 14 days before the closing date. Filing afterward leaves a gap during which the firm has no valid registration.

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2. Partial Change of Ownership (§ 34.610(d)(2))

A partial change in ownership requires a revised certificate only if it affects the firm's name, location, or mailing address. A minority-share transfer that changes nothing on the face of the certificate requires no revision.

Remember that § 34.613(a)(3) requires a corporate applicant to disclose each shareholder owning more than 25% of the shares. A partial change that crosses that 25% line will surface in the next renewal filing even if no revised certificate is needed immediately.

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3. Change of Corporate Officers (§ 34.610(e))

"Any change of corporate officers must be reported in writing to the state fire marshal within 14 days. This change does not require a revised certificate."

This is a pure notice obligation. There is no fee and no reissued document. Expect a distractor claiming a $20 revised-certificate fee is due.

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4. Name, Location or Mailing Address Change (§ 34.610(h))

"The change of a firm's name, location, or mailing address requires a revised certificate. Within 14 days after the change requiring the revision, the certificate holder must submit written notification of the necessary change accompanied by the required fee."

The fee is $20 under § 34.614(c)(8) for a duplicate or revised certificate. A plain change of address request is $0 under § 34.614(c)(7) — the distinction is whether a revised document is issued.

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5. The Complete Deadline Table

Notice the pattern: 14 days is the default clock in Subchapter F, it runs after the event in every case except total ownership change, and only name/location/address events generate a revised document and a fee.

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6. Alteration Is a Separate Offense (§ 34.612)

"The alteration of certificates, licenses, or approvals renders them invalid and is the basis for administrative action pursuant to the Insurance Code § 6002.302."

Whiting out an old company name on a certificate, editing a scanned license to show a new employer, or amending an instructor approval are all alterations. The document becomes invalid — so the holder is then also operating without a valid certificate or license, which reaches § 6002.301(1) and the Class B misdemeanor in § 6002.351.

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7. Worked Fact Pattern

Scenario. Lone Star Alarm Co., an ACR holder, is bought outright by a Dallas investor group closing on June 30. The buyer keeps the trade name, the same office, the same designated employee, and the same insurance carrier.

• Because this is a total change of ownership, the existing certificate is invalidated on closing — the identical name, office, and staff are irrelevant.
• A complete application for a new certificate (Form SF031, fees, insurance evidence, corporate documents, designated employee) must be filed on or before June 16 — at least 14 days before June 30.
• If the buyer instead files a "revised certificate" request on July 5, the firm has been operating without a valid registration since June 30: a prohibited practice under § 6002.301(1), grounds for discipline under § 6002.302, and a Class B misdemeanor under § 6002.351.