A trespass enforcement authorization form is a document you file with your local police department that gives officers legal standing to order unauthorized people off your property and arrest those who refuse, without you having to be present. Departments call it different things — Letter of Agency, Trespass Letter of Consent, Trespass Arrest Authorization — but the function is the same: you make the police your agent for trespass enforcement at a specific address.
Where to Get the Form
Start with your local police department’s website. Many departments post the current form as a downloadable PDF on their community services or crime prevention page. Chula Vista, Alhambra, San Diego, and Fairfax, Virginia all publish theirs online, and that pattern holds across hundreds of departments. If yours doesn’t, call the non-emergency line and ask for the records bureau or community policing unit.
Grab the right year’s version. Some departments update the form annually and reject outdated ones. Chula Vista, for example, publishes a year-specific edition. Check the header or footer for a revision date before you fill anything out.
Information the Form Asks For
Every department’s form is slightly different, but the core fields are consistent.
- Property address. The exact street address or range of addresses covered. For shopping centers or multi-unit commercial properties, you may need to list each suite or unit separately.
- Property or business name, if applicable.
- Owner or manager identification: full legal name, title, phone, and email.
- Alternate contact. Many forms include a field for a site manager, security supervisor, or management company representative who can speak for you when you’re unavailable.
- Scope of authorization. Some forms let you pick the enforcement level. One city’s form offers separate options: authorize arrest of anyone on the property without consent; authorize officers to warn a person to leave and arrest them if they return within six months; or authorize removal from a commercial property open to the public for 24 hours.
- Signature and date, as the owner or authorized representative.
Type or print clearly. This information gets entered into the department’s dispatch system, and an illegible phone number or misspelled street name defeats the purpose. If you manage property for an owner, bring documentation of your authority, such as a management agreement or power of attorney. Some departments verify this before accepting the form.
Do You Need a Notary
It depends on where the property is. In California, Senate Bill 602 made notarization mandatory for all trespass authorization forms filed with police; any form submitted without it is invalid, and older un-notarized forms on file are no longer enforceable. Other jurisdictions, like Fairfax, Virginia, accept the form with just a signature. Check whether your department’s form includes a notary block. If it does, plan a trip to a notary public, a UPS store, or your bank — many offer free notarization for account holders. Fees for a single acknowledgment run roughly $5 to $25 depending on state caps.
Posting Signs on the Property
Filing the form is half the job. Anyone entering needs fair notice that trespassing will be enforced, and that comes from signs.
At minimum, signs should say “No Trespassing” and include the property address. Some departments want additional language stating that a trespass authorization is on file with police, along with a contact number for reporting problems. The San Diego Police Department specifies signs of at least 18 by 24 inches with a font readable from the nearest public street. Other departments set different minimums or leave it to the owner’s judgment, but bigger and bolder is safer.
Place signs at every entry point: driveways, walkways, parking lot entrances, and gates. Space them along the property boundary so someone approaching from any direction sees one before crossing onto your land. Mount them high enough to be visible but not so high they disappear into the building facade; most placement guidance falls in the three-to-six-foot range from the ground. Keep them maintained. A sign that’s faded, overgrown, or knocked down can undercut your authorization if an arrested trespasser argues they had no notice.
How to Submit It
Submission methods vary.
- In person. Hand-deliver the completed and, if required, notarized form to the records bureau or front desk of your local precinct. This is the most common method and lets you confirm on the spot that it’s accepted.
- Online upload. Some departments provide a secure portal where you upload a scanned or photographed copy. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has an online submission page specifically for trespass authorization forms.
- Mail. A few departments accept mailed forms. Use certified mail with return receipt if you go this route, so you have proof of delivery.
After the department receives the form, administrative staff enter the property into the local dispatch system. That creates a flag on the address so when a 911 or non-emergency call comes in for that location, the dispatcher can immediately confirm an authorization is active. Allow a few business days for processing. The form isn’t live until it’s in the system.
What the Authorization Actually Does
Without a trespass authorization on file, officers who arrive at your property and find someone loitering or camping generally cannot act unless you or your representative are present to request removal and agree to be the complaining party. With the form on file, responding officers can confirm through dispatch that they have standing to act as your agent. They can issue a verbal trespass warning, document the person’s name and description, and arrest the person for criminal trespass if they refuse to leave or return later. The warning typically remains valid for a set period, often six months to a year.
One detail catches owners off guard: you may be required to appear in court if an arrest leads to prosecution. The Fairfax, Virginia form states this explicitly. If you filed the authorization but can’t or won’t testify, the case may be dismissed.
How Long It Lasts and When to Update It
Most authorizations expire. Twelve months is the most common window; Riverside County, San Diego, and Fairfax all cap theirs at one year. Some departments set two years, and at least one (Corvallis, Oregon) issues authorizations with no expiration date, re-verifying information periodically instead. Your form will state its expiration, and renewal is your responsibility. If you let it lapse, officers have no standing to act until a new form is processed.
Update the form whenever the facts change: a new property manager, a new phone number, or boundary changes from a sale or subdivision. Submit a revised form so dispatch stays accurate. An outdated contact number means officers can’t reach you when they need to, and a name that doesn’t match the current owner can create problems in court.
You can revoke the authorization at any time. Some departments accept a simple written request by email. Revocation removes the flag from dispatch, and police will no longer act as your trespass enforcement agent at that address.
What You’re Agreeing to by Signing
Read the fine print. Most trespass authorization forms include a hold-harmless or indemnification clause requiring you to defend and indemnify the city and police department against claims, lawsuits, or damages arising from enforcement actions taken under your authorization. In plain terms: if someone trespassed from your property sues the police, you may be on the hook for the city’s legal costs. This is standard language, and departments won’t process the form without your agreement to it, but you should understand what you’re accepting. If you own a large commercial property with frequent enforcement, discuss the potential liability with an attorney or your insurance carrier.
Does Your Property Qualify
Many trespass authorization programs are designed primarily for commercial and business properties: storefronts, shopping centers, office parks, vacant commercial lots. Some departments limit the program to commercial properties entirely and will not accept trespass letters for private residences, rental homes, or small multifamily buildings. The reasoning is practical. A homeowner or residential tenant already has the right to call police and request removal of an unwanted person as the occupant; the form exists to solve a different problem, where the owner isn’t physically present. If you own a residential rental, check with your local department before assuming the program covers you.
Landlords of multi-unit housing need to be careful. You cannot use a trespass letter to bar someone who is a legitimate guest of a current tenant. Tenants have a right to peaceful enjoyment and freedom of association, and a blanket authorization that prevents them from having visitors would violate those rights. A multi-unit authorization works best for common areas — parking lots, lobbies, laundry rooms, grounds — and should target specific behavior like criminal activity, property damage, or harassment, applied uniformly across all residents and visitors. If your lease includes guest policies and clauses authorizing management to act when visitors threaten safety, your enforcement stands on much stronger legal footing.