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Last reviewed 2026-10-13. Informational only, not legal advice.

Harris County Fire Code §109.3.1: ITM reporting through The Compliance Engine

If a building with a fire sprinkler, fire alarm, kitchen hood or other fire protection system sits in unincorporated Harris County, every inspection, test and maintenance (ITM) report for that system has to reach the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office (HCFMO) through one online platform: Brycer's The Compliance Engine (TCE). This guide explains what the rule says, who it covers, what property owners and licensed contractors each have to do, and what HCFMO publishes about fees.

Sources for every statement on this page are linked inline and listed at the end. This page explains public requirements; it is not legal advice. FireMarket does not file ITM reports with HCFMO or The Compliance Engine. The licensed contractor who performs the work submits the report.

What the rule says

The Harris County Fire Code (amendments to the 2021 International Fire Code, effective January 1, 2025) sets two layers of requirements in Section 109:

  • §109.3 Recordkeeping. A record of periodic inspections, tests, servicing and other maintenance must be kept on the premises or another approved location for at least 3 years (or longer where the code or a referenced standard says so). Records must be available to the fire code official, and a copy must be provided on request. The fire code official can prescribe the form and format and can require certain records to be filed.
  • §109.3.1 Reporting. Maintenance and testing must be reported to the fire code official through the reporting platform approved by Harris County Commissioners Court. All installations, testing and maintenance, and yellow or red tag notifications, must be reported through that online platform. Reporting there is treated as the appropriate notification to the AHJ under the State-mandated rules.

Source: Harris County Fire Code, effective January 1, 2025 (HCFMO PDF), Section 109.

Which platform: The Compliance Engine

HCFMO's own page names the platform: "All service providers who inspect or test fire protection systems within the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office jurisdiction are required to register and submit all test, inspection and service reports via The Compliance Engine," in line with the testing schedule in the adopted fire code (HCFMO: Brycer / The Compliance Engine).

HCFMO also says property owners will receive proactive notifications of their testing requirements through the service.

Who it applies to

The Harris County Fire Code is a county fire code. It defines the unincorporated area as the part of Harris County that is not inside an incorporated city, town or village (or within 2,500 feet of the centerline of the Houston Ship Channel) (Harris County Fire Code, definitions).

Not sure which side of the line a building is on? HCFMO's FAQ points to the Harris County address search: if the "Law Juris" column for your address contains "sheriff," you are in unincorporated Harris County (HCFMO FAQ).

Inside the City of Houston, the Houston Fire Department's Fire Marshal's Office is the fire code official, not HCFMO. See Houston Fire Marshal vs. Harris County Fire Marshal: who is your AHJ?

Systems HCFMO tracks

HCFMO lists these systems as tracked in The Compliance Engine (HCFMO):

  • Private hydrant system
  • Fire pump
  • Paint/spray booth
  • Fire escape
  • Automatic fire sprinkler system
  • 5-year fire sprinkler system
  • Fire alarm system
  • Commercial kitchen hood suppression
  • Commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning
  • Emergency generator
  • Special suppression system
  • Automatic closing fire assemblies
  • Emergency radio responder coverage system
  • Active smoke control system
  • Standpipe

Portable fire extinguishers are not on HCFMO's published list as of October 13, 2026.

What licensed contractors must do

HCFMO's "Keys to Get Started" and "Key Processes to Know" (HCFMO) boil down to:

  1. Register the company at thecomplianceengine.com and sign up for training.
  2. Set up the account: enter every inspector, inspector license and company license; add users.
  3. Submit every report for systems in HCFMO's jurisdiction, using the correct template for each system (fire alarm, sprinkler, kitchen hood and so on).
  4. Type out deficiencies in the report, and attach the PDF of the inspection report when using a short form (fire protection systems only).
  5. Submit for payment. A report that is saved but not submitted is an "open" report and has not reached the AHJ.
  6. Update deficiency tracking when violations are corrected, so the AHJ knows.
  7. Submit a new premise if the building is not already in the database, and check notifications from the AHJ.

What property owners and managers must do

The rule puts the reporting step on the service provider, but the building owner still carries the underlying duties:

  • Keep records for 3 years (§109.3) and produce copies when the fire code official asks.
  • Hire a contractor licensed by the State Fire Marshal's Office (SFMO / TDI) for the system. See How to verify a Texas fire contractor license.
  • Watch for TCE notifications about upcoming testing, and act on them.
  • Correct deficiencies found on yellow or red tags, and make sure the repair is reported too. See What yellow and red tags mean.
  • Ask for proof. Before you close out a job, ask your contractor to confirm the report was submitted to the AHJ in TCE, not just saved.

Fees, as HCFMO describes them

  • Filing fee, paid by the service provider. HCFMO says the process "requires the service provider pay a nominal filing fee at the time of submittal."
  • No registration fee. "There is no fee to register your company with The Compliance Engine."
  • Where to see the price. "Once registered, pricing is viewable under the AHJ icon in The Compliance Engine."

Source: HCFMO: Brycer / The Compliance Engine. HCFMO does not print a dollar amount on that page, and its fee schedule effective October 1, 2025 does not list a TCE filing fee. We do not quote a number here because the current price is shown inside TCE.

Optional: Compliance Sync. Brycer's Compliance Sync service lets a contractor email report PDFs to a per-branch address and have Brycer staff key them into TCE. Brycer lists it at $5 per report submitted, with most reports processed in two to three business days and entry guaranteed within five business days (Brycer, June 26, 2026). Brycer's announcement does not say whether that price replaces or adds to the AHJ filing fee; check in TCE.

Penalty for not reporting. The Harris County Fire Code's citation table lists "Failure to report installation, testing, and maintenance of Fire Protection Systems" (§109.3.1) at $200 to $500, with court costs in addition (Harris County Fire Code, Table 112.4.2).

How FireMarket helps keep the paper trail

FireMarket does not file anything with HCFMO or The Compliance Engine. What it does is keep the records that make the filing easy to prove:

  • Harris County ITM compliance tracker on the property manager dashboard: one row per property with the system type, last ITM date, any outstanding yellow or red tag, and the building's TCE premise ID.
  • Contractor TCE ID on the contractor's profile, so you can see which TCE account the report should come from.
  • License evidence on every bid: each bid shows the contractor's TX SFMO/TDI license class and a Verified or Failed/expired badge, checked daily at bid (not a live feed).
  • A completion report PDF for each job, plus a place to keep the TCE confirmation number with the job once the report has been filed.

On FireMarket, Houston property managers invite contractors from their own list or share a private job link. It is not a public RFQ.

Sources

All sources checked October 13, 2026.

Informational only, not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office and the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office (SFMO / TDI).

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