Can an HOA Use License Plate Recognition Without Flock?

This is a typical question that we get from HOA boards and property managers who are looking at LPR cameras for the entrance of their gated community or neighborhood:

“Our HOA board is looking at license plate cameras for the front entrance. We talked to Flock, but a lot of our residents do not like the idea of their plates going into a network that police and other agencies can search, and the yearly cost per camera adds up. Can we get license plate recognition at our entrance where the HOA owns the cameras and the video, and nothing gets shared with anyone?”

Yes. With a Viewtron license plate recognition system, the plate video and data are recorded ONLY to the HOA’s own NVR. The plate data is NOT sent to any cloud service or government database, and there are NO monthly or yearly licensing fees.
Why Are HOAs Looking for an Alternative to Flock?

Most HOA boards want the same thing. If a theft or vandalism happens in the community, they want a clear recording of the plates of the vehicles that came in and went out, so they can help law enforcement track down the people responsible.

The concerns we hear about Flock are about cost, control, and data sharing. HOA members online have reported paying about $2,500 per camera per year for Flock, and some boards have said that they would not have access to the video captured by the cameras. A number of cities, including Cambridge, Massachusetts and Surprise, Arizona, have also ended their Flock contracts.

I answered the general privacy question in more detail in this forum post: Do All LPR Cameras Send Plate Data to Government like Flock?

Where Does the Plate Data Go with a Viewtron LPR System?

The plate video and data are stored locally on the hard drive of the HOA’s Viewtron NVR (network video recorder), which can sit in the clubhouse or guard house. The recorded video and plate data stay on that NVR only. When the drive fills up, the NVR automatically overwrites the oldest recordings. How far back the recordings go depends on the size of the hard drive and the number of cameras recording to it.

It is a closed loop system. The license plate recognition software runs on the camera itself, so the system does not rely on any cloud service for plate identification or for video storage. It is NOT connected to any centralized government system or database the way Flock cameras are. When board members or the property manager view the cameras remotely from the mobile app or the VMS software for Mac and Windows PCs, the app connects straight to the HOA’s own NVR. The video is not stored in the cloud.

If a crime happens and the police ask for footage, the HOA decides what to share. For example, you can export the plate records to a USB drive as a CSV file with a snapshot of each plate. You can also back up video clips from the NVR to a USB drive, or export a clip from the mobile app and share it straight from your phone.

Some states, such as California, have rules for organizations that use license plate readers, so we recommend that HOA boards check their state’s requirements before installing an LPR system.

What Can an HOA Do with Viewtron LPR at the Entrance?

A typical HOA entrance uses one LPR camera and one overview camera for each lane, and many communities monitor both the incoming and outgoing lanes. You can see these LPR systems for HOA community entry gates here. Here is what the Viewtron LPR camera systems can do:
- Allow and block lists. Add resident plates by hand, import them from a CSV file, or register them from plates that were already captured. The camera holds 10,000 plates, and the 8 channel and larger Viewtron NVRs hold 50,000.
- Guest and contractor plates. Add a visitor, contractor, or delivery vehicle to a temporary list so the gate opens for that plate only for the time you set.
- Gate opening. When an authorized plate is recognized, an alarm relay output on the camera or NVR can trigger the gate. If you already have an access control system, each plate can be mapped to an access card ID that is sent to that system over Wiegand instead.
- Alerts for unknown plates. A plate that is not in the database can trigger a push notification to the mobile app, a snapshot, and an alarm output.
- Plate search. Search plate events by date range or by plate number on the NVR, then play back the recorded video.
- Night capture. The camera compensates very well for headlight glare, so plates can be read at night.
I demonstrate the gate setup step by step in this license plate recognition gate opener video.

How Is Viewtron LPR Different from Flock for an HOA?

The HOA owns the system. The cameras, the NVR, the recorded video, and the plate data all belong to the community and stay on the community’s property. Nothing is shared with anyone unless the board chooses to share it. The board can also give a security guard or the property manager their own view-only login to the NVR, so they can watch live video and search plates without being able to change settings or delete recordings. There are NO monthly or yearly software licensing fees for the Viewtron ALPR software.

Viewtron license plate recognition is the best alternative to a Flock camera for any HOA or gated community that wants outstanding ALPR software without any data sharing with governments.

Viewtron LPR Camera Systems

You can shop for Viewtron LPR camera systems here.

LPR Camera Video Demos

You can watch video demos using Viewtron LPR cameras here.

If you have any questions about license plate recognition for your HOA, you can text or call me at 561-433-8488. You can also request a free LPR camera system consultation here.