Control rooms • Continuity • Redundancy

EN 50518

EN 50518:2019 + A1:2023 defines requirements for Monitoring & Alarm Receiving Centres (MARC/ARCs): physical security, technical infrastructure, staffing & procedures, and business continuity (fallback sites). It replaces the former 2013 Parts 1–3 and updates requirements.

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Physical security

Access control to critical rooms and environmental protection.

Access control, building and electronic measures.
Fire/intrusion in critical zones; transmission and response times.
Segregation of visitors, operators and plant rooms; access logging.

Technical infrastructure & redundancy

Redundant links and systems (connectivity, servers, storage).
Backup power (UPS/genset) and resilient cooling/environmentals.
Network segmentation, time sync and data/recording integrity.

Personnel, procedures & continuity

Qualified staff, 24/7 staffing and standardised procedures.
Incident flow: receipt → verification → dispatch, with full logging.
BCP/DRP: fallback site, test routines and periodic reviews.

ARC categories & scope

Two ARC categories (I and II) with increasing requirements; applicability depends on risk, scale and alarm services.

Frequently asked questions

What does EN 50518 cover?

Minimum requirements for alarm reception, verification and response by monitoring/alarm receiving centres (MARC/ARC).

What changed vs 2013?

The 2019 edition consolidated Parts 1–3; A1:2023 introduced clarifications and updates.

Which ARC categories exist?

Two levels (I and II) with differing requirements for redundancy, physical security and processes.

How do you demonstrate compliance?

Design & risk scan, pre-audits, commissioning documentation, logs and periodic reassessment.