Passing a SIRA CCTV audit in Dubai isn't just about having the right cameras — it's about having enough storage to keep footage for as long as the regulator requires. Every year, businesses across Dubai fail inspections not because their cameras are non-compliant, but because their NVR (Network Video Recorder) ran out of space and overwrote footage before the required retention period was up. If you're a facility manager, building owner, or procurement lead responsible for security compliance, here's what you need to know about CCTV storage rules in the UAE for 2026.

How Long Must CCTV Footage Be Kept in Dubai?

The Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA) sets minimum footage retention periods based on the risk profile of the premises. As a general guide for 2026:

• Retail stores, offices, warehouses, and hotels: minimum 31 days of continuous footage
• Banks, jewellery stores, and other high-security premises: minimum 90 days
• Healthcare and government facilities: minimum 90 days

These are minimums, not targets — many property managers in Dubai choose to store 60–90 days across all sites simply to avoid gaps during audits, disputes, or insurance claims.

How Much NVR Storage Do You Actually Need?

This is where most non-compliant sites get caught out. Storage capacity depends on three factors: the number of cameras, the resolution/compression they record in, and how many days you need to retain footage.

A Practical Rule of Thumb

As a general guide, a single 4MP camera recording continuously using modern H.265 compression will typically use somewhere in the range of 1–2GB per day, depending on scene activity and bitrate settings. A site with 16 cameras storing footage for a 31-day minimum could therefore need several terabytes of usable capacity — and a 90-day retention site significantly more. Because exact figures vary by camera model and settings, it's best to have your integrator calculate storage sizing camera-by-camera rather than estimating.

RAID Configurations for Critical Sites

For banks, hospitals, and other high-security premises, SIRA generally expects RAID-configured storage, where footage is mirrored across multiple hard drives. If one drive fails, the system keeps recording on the other — so a single hardware failure doesn't wipe out weeks of compliance footage.

On-Site vs Cloud Storage

SIRA permits footage to be retained either on-site via DVR/NVR hardware or through approved cloud storage configurations. Many Dubai businesses use a hybrid setup: local NVR storage for fast access and playback, with cloud backup as a second layer of protection against theft, fire, or hardware failure.

Choosing the Right NVR for Your Retention Period

Not all recorders are built the same, and undersizing your NVR is one of the most common (and expensive) mistakes we see on site visits. When specifying an NVR for a SIRA-compliant installation, check for:

• Enough HDD bays to support your required retention period without constant drive swaps
• RAID support for sites requiring redundancy
• H.265/H.265+ compression to reduce storage load without sacrificing image quality
• Sufficient channel count and PoE ports to match your current camera count, with room to expand
• Remote and encrypted access, since 2026 SIRA guidance increasingly expects authorised remote access for inspections
• Backup power support so recording doesn't stop during outages

Merac Dubai supplies and installs Hikvision, UNV, and Dahua NVR and camera systems sized correctly for your retention requirements — whether that's a 31-day retail site or a 90-day high-security facility.

Compliance Checklist Before Your Next SIRA Audit

• Confirm your premises category and its minimum retention period (31 or 90 days)
• Verify actual available storage against your camera count and resolution — not just the drive's rated capacity
• Check that RAID redundancy is in place if your site is high-security
• Test that footage from 30+ days ago is still retrievable, not just recording
• Confirm remote access and encryption settings meet current SIRA cybersecurity expectations
• Schedule a maintenance visit to check drive health — failing hard drives are a leading cause of retention gaps

Don't Let Storage Be the Reason You Fail an Audit

A SIRA-approved camera on a wall means nothing if the footage isn't there when it's needed. Merac Dubai helps building owners, facility managers, and procurement teams across the UAE size, install, and maintain CCTV and NVR systems that meet retention requirements from day one — backed by an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) to catch storage and drive issues before they become compliance failures.

📞 Call or WhatsApp us today to review your current CCTV storage setup or plan a new SIRA-compliant installation for your Dubai property.