SIRA Compliance
SIRA-Approved CCTV Company in Dubai
If a landlord, an inspector or your own renewal paperwork has just told you your CCTV needs to be SIRA-compliant, you’ve probably discovered the same thing everyone else does: plenty of companies in Dubai will sell you cameras, and far fewer will take responsibility for whether the finished system actually passes.
As a SIRA-approved CCTV company in Dubai, AQLON Systems handles the whole path — compliant design, certified installation, the documentation SIRA expects to see, support through inspection, and the AMC that keeps you compliant afterwards. One team, one point of accountability.
Why it matters
Why SIRA compliance matters
CCTV in Dubai business premises is regulated by the Security Industry Regulatory Agency. SIRA sets what your system must cover, how it must record, how long footage must be kept — and who is permitted to design, install and maintain it.
The consequences of getting it wrong are ordinary and expensive. A system that doesn’t meet requirements fails inspection. A failed inspection produces findings with a rectification deadline. Unresolved findings escalate into fines and can complicate licence renewals — and “we already had cameras” is not a defence, because a standard installation and a compliant one are different pieces of engineering even when the hardware looks identical.
There’s a quieter cost too: non-compliant systems tend to be unusable at exactly the moment you need them — wrong retention, wrong coverage, no working export. The rules exist because those are the systems that fail people.
Last reviewed: August 2026.
Approved equipment and standards
Correct camera placement and coverage
Proper storage and retention
Complete documentation
Inspection readiness
Avoids fines and re-work
What we deliver
SIRA-Compliant CCTV Services in Dubai
Compliant Design
Certified Installation
Documentation
Inspection Support
How we work
Our SIRA compliance process
01
Site Survey
02
Compliant Design
03
Installation
04
Documentation & Inspection
Requirements
SIRA CCTV Installation Requirements by Premises Type
Dubai’s SIRA CCTV installation requirements are not one-size-fits-all. Obligations are set by category of premises, and the differences are significant.
| Premises type | What compliance typically centres on |
|---|---|
| Retail & showrooms | Entrances, sales floor and cash-handling areas |
| Hotels & hospitality | Public areas, entrances and service zones, coordinated with other guest-safety systems |
| Warehouses & industrial | Perimeter, yard and vehicle access alongside internal coverage |
| Residential buildings | Common areas — lobbies, lifts, parking — scaled to building type and size |
| Offices | Entrance and reception as a baseline, scaling with size and activity |
Two units of the same floor area can carry very different obligations. A 400 m² showroom and a 400 m² warehouse are not the same compliance problem: the showroom’s requirements concentrate on customer-facing and cash areas, while the warehouse pulls in perimeter, yard and gate coverage — often alongside access control.
That’s why a compliant design starts from classification rather than a camera count. Our survey establishes the classification first, and the design follows from it. Requirements are updated periodically — see our SIRA compliance guides for current detail by category.
Last reviewed: August 2026.
Inspections
What a SIRA Inspection Checks
Once you know what’s being examined, passing becomes engineering rather than luck. Inspections generally look at four things.
Coverage matches the approved design. Cameras where the drawings say they are, viewing what they’re meant to view. This is where businesses come unstuck — a shelving run moved eighteen months ago, a partition added during a fit-out, and a camera now watching a wall.
Recording and retention. Footage retained to the required minimum — 31 days for most premises, with spare recording capacity beyond that — plus correct time and date stamping and a working export function.
System health. No failed cameras, no degraded images, no dead storage. Faults you’ve been living with are findings waiting to be written up.
Documentation. Approvals, drawings and maintenance records available and current.
Our installations are commissioned against this list from day one, and the AMC keeps systems inspection-ready between visits — the expensive way to discover a failed hard drive is during an inspection.
Last reviewed: August 2026.
Upgrades
Already Have CCTV That Isn’t Compliant?
You’re not starting from zero, and you very likely don’t need to replace everything.
We start with a compliance audit: documenting what’s installed, testing what actually works, and mapping the gaps against the requirements for your premises type. As an ELV systems integrator, we then phase the upgrade — cabling that tests to standard is reused, cameras whose coverage and image quality already meet requirements stay where they are, and replacement targets the genuine gaps.
A common example: a business with a five-year-old system passes on coverage but fails on retention, because the recorder was sized for a fortnight of footage. That’s a storage and recorder job — not a new installation, and not a new installation price.
The outcome is a compliant system at a fraction of new-build cost, with the documentation to prove it at inspection.
FAQs
SIRA CCTV — FAQs
What is SIRA?
SIRA is the Security Industry Regulatory Agency, the Dubai government body that regulates the emirate’s security industry. It sets standards for security systems in business premises, licenses the companies permitted to design, install and maintain them, and inspects installed systems against those standards.
Do I need a SIRA-approved CCTV company in Dubai?
Yes, if the CCTV is for business premises in Dubai — the work must be carried out by a SIRA-approved CCTV company licensed for that activity. Using an unapproved installer typically means the system can’t be certified, however good the equipment is, so confirm approval before comparing prices.
What are the SIRA CCTV installation requirements?
Requirements cover the whole lifecycle: a design meeting the standards for your premises category, approved equipment, installation by certified engineers, footage retention to the required minimum with spare capacity, complete documentation, and maintenance that keeps the system in its approved state.
Do you handle SIRA documentation and approvals?
Yes — drawings, submissions, as-builts and commissioning records are part of the job rather than an extra. We compile the pack as the work progresses and attend the inspection with you, so nothing has to be assembled from memory.
How long must CCTV footage be retained?
For most business premises in Dubai the minimum is 31 days of recorded footage, with spare recording capacity beyond that. Retention drives storage sizing, and undersized storage is one of the most common reasons older systems fail inspection.
How much more does SIRA-compliant CCTV cost than a standard installation?
The equipment is often similar; the difference is engineering and accountability — approved design, certified installation, documentation, and storage sized for the required retention. For most premises the compliance premium is modest against total project cost, and non-compliance has its own price in failed inspections, rework and fines. A free survey gives you a fixed number rather than a range.
What happens if my CCTV fails a SIRA inspection?
You’ll receive findings that must be rectified within a set period, and repeated or unresolved non-compliance can escalate to fines and affect licensing. The practical response is to treat the findings as a scoped work list: audit against them, close the gaps, update the documentation and support the re-inspection.
Does SIRA compliance end once the system is installed?
No — retention has to be maintained, faults rectified, and the system kept to its approved design, which is why maintenance matters as much as installation. Our AMC covers preventive visits, fault response, and the records that show an inspector the system has been properly looked after.
Need a SIRA-approved CCTV company in Dubai?
Free site survey. Fixed, itemised quotation. AMC to keep you compliant after handover.
Operating in Abu Dhabi as well? The equivalent regime there is MCC — see our ADMCC-approved CCTV company in Abu Dhabi page.