Dubai CCTV Requirements: What SIRA's Rule Book Actually Says
If you are looking for Dubai Police CCTV requirements, the document you need does not come from Dubai Police. Article 24(a) of Law No. (12) of 2016 Regulating the Security Industry in the Emirate of Dubai moved the Department of Protective Systems, with all of its powers, to the Security Industry Regulatory Agency. SIRA has set the surveillance standard since, and Article 7 gives it the power to write the specifications and license the devices.
The rule book in force is the Preventive Systems Manual, approved by Administrative Resolution No. (13) of 2025, signed by SIRA Chief Executive Officer Khalifa Ibrahim Al Saleis on 14 April 2025 and effective from publication in the Official Gazette. Article 3 of that resolution repeals anything in an older manual that contradicts it. Everything below is read from SIRA's own 140 page English translation and from Law No. (12) of 2016 on the Dubai Legislation Portal, both opened on 20 September 2026, and SIRA notes that the Arabic text prevails in case of conflict. Article 4 covers the whole emirate including free zones, so an address in Dubai Silicon Oasis or the DIFC is not outside these rules.
The 4K minimum that is not in the rule book
Several installer guides published this year state that Dubai now requires 4K cameras at 25 frames per second. The manual does not say that. Part One, Chapter One sets camera resolution at no less than 1080p Full HD and recording resolution at the same figure. The 25 frames per second applies to live view, and the recording floor is 10 frames per second.
That is not permission to buy the cheapest 1080p camera on the shelf. The same chapter asks for colour images, variable bit rate with no fixed rate or ceiling, a signal to noise ratio of at least 48 dB, IP66 or better outdoors, Wide Dynamic Range of at least 110 dB on any camera facing a light source, infrared with automatic switching to monochrome, and remote zoom and focus above 4 metres.
The requirement that decides how many cameras you buy
Resolution is not the binding constraint. Field of view is. Part Two, Chapter One defines seven view categories, and the primary test is how much of the screen a standard target fills, where that target is a person 1.6 metres tall. Pixel density is a fallback, allowed only in exceptional cases with prior SIRA approval. One translation quirk to note: every row reads pixels per metre except Observation, which reads pixels per square metre.
| View | Target size on screen | Pixel density fallback | What the manual uses it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspection | 400 percent | 1,000 pixels per metre | Analysing facial expressions |
| Identification | 120 percent | 300 pixels per metre | Identifying an unknown person |
| Recognition | 50 percent | 125 pixels per metre | Tracking a known person |
| Observation | 25 percent | 62.5 pixels | Controlling crowds and gatherings |
| Detection | 10 percent | 30 pixels per metre | Movement, direction, general appearance |
| Monitoring | 5 percent | 12.5 pixels per metre | Presence without recognition |
| Plate recognition | 20 percent, character height | 400 pixels per metre | Reading a 330 x 160 mm plate |
Mounting angle is part of the specification, which is where retrofits fail. An Identification camera may sit no more than 45 degrees left or right of the subject and no more than 20 degrees above or below the horizon, and it needs that 110 dB WDR wherever it is installed. Dropping a dome into the ceiling corner and angling it steeply down at the door gives a Detection view, not an Identification view, however many megapixels sit behind the lens.
Your entrance needs identification, your corridor does not
Part Three runs to 43 sector chapters, each listing the required view per area. Chapter Thirty Five covers business centres, defined as traditional or shared offices serving small and medium enterprises: Identification at the entrances, Observation at emergency exit doors and at lift lobbies and stairs, Detection along corridors and waiting halls, and Recognition at customer service, cashier and reception desks.
Chapter Nineteen covers warehouses, which matters in Jebel Ali or Dubai Investments Park: Identification at the entrances, Recognition at reception, plate recognition cameras at vehicle entrances and exits, a Monitoring view over loading and unloading areas, and Detection inside and around the building. Hazardous and valuable materials warehouses add a Recognition view on the storage container door, SIRA approved locks and an intruder alarm on rooms with windows unless the site runs 24 hours.
If one premises carries more than one activity, the maximum requirements apply to the shared areas. Everything in the manual is a minimum, and nothing may be installed below it without official SIRA approval.
31 days is the floor, and the exceptions are not where you expect
Recordings must be kept at least 31 days, at high quality, at no less than 10 frames per second. Where motion triggered recording is used, the setting must cover no less than 70 percent of the day per camera, with at least 10 seconds captured before and after each event. Recording devices must be sized with 20 percent extra capacity on top.
The sector exceptions get quoted loosely online, usually as "banks must keep 90 days". The manual does not say that. In Chapter Twelve, financial and monetary institutions keep on site cameras for no less than 31 days and ATM cameras for no less than 75 days. The 90 day figure sits in Chapter Twenty, for self storage. Check your own chapter rather than a summary, because that difference is the size of your disk order. The arithmetic that turns retention into terabytes is in our guide to choosing an NVR on channels, storage and retention.
The network and power lines nobody budgets for
This part lands on an IT manager, and it is usually missing from the first quotation.
- A separate, dedicated private network installed solely for the security systems. Wireless is prohibited unless approved.
- Where twisted pair is used, high quality copper CAT 6 at minimum. Copper clad aluminium and copper clad iron are not allowed, which rules out many cheap drums. Our note on Cat 6, Cat 6A and fibre in a Dubai fit out covers how to tell them apart.
- An additional 20 percent of total capacity calculated into the network.
- Above 200 connected devices, a network management system that reports outages automatically, and segmentation rather than one flat network.
- UPS capacity to run the security systems for at least 30 minutes, with every recorder on a UPS.
The camera count also sets the power budget on your switch, easy to underestimate once infrared illuminators are running. Our explainer on PoE standards in UAE office networks covers the headroom, and the UPS sizing piece covers that 30 minute figure.
Screens, operators and the exemption for smaller sites
Monitors must be at least 1080p, built for surveillance rather than television use, no smaller than 21 inches, and provided two per operator workstation. Video management software is required at 64 or more cameras or 4 or more recording devices. Smaller premises get real relief: an establishment whose activity does not require an operations room, and which has fewer than 64 cameras or fewer than 4 recorders, may use a single screen with a KVM device.
Three design choices that will be rejected
Chapter Eight of Part Two is short and absolute. Hidden cameras, pan and zoom cameras in private areas, and roof cameras seeing past your own boundary are each prohibited without SIRA approval. An image is also unacceptable if an obstruction covers more than 5 percent of the frame, and SIRA approved warning signs must be posted at all main entrances and inside the lifts.
What to confirm before you raise the purchase order
SIRA runs a Security Equipment and Devices Certification service that examines and approves security devices for use in Dubai. The application is made by a SIRA licensed security service provider or by the manufacturer, not by you as the end user. Published fees are 100 AED plus a 10 AED knowledge fee and a 10 AED innovation fee, and SIRA states that approval may take from one working day up to eight months depending on the device type. That range is the reason to confirm the certificate for the exact model before ordering rather than after the pallet lands.
Then check the recorder against the feature list, because this is where inexpensive units fail rather than on the resolution line. The manual asks for ONVIF 2.0, RTSP streaming, NTP synchronisation, variable bit rate with no maximum transfer speed, an SDK available to SIRA on request, export no slower than one tenth of real time, and notifications for disk failure, a full disk, recording turned on and off, a changed schedule, a camera fault, a named user login, and a heartbeat signal.
Recorders must sit in a secure, clean and constantly monitored location, with access restricted to authorised staff and an auditable log of entry and exit. Worth adding from experience rather than from the manual: that room still has to hold a sensible temperature through a Dubai August, and the 30 minute UPS keeps the recorder running during a power cut while doing nothing for the cooling.
Where we fit
Codeeo Tech supplies hardware. Installation, certification and sign off have to come from a company licensed by SIRA for installing security devices and equipment under Article 3(a)(2) of Resolution No. (1) of 2018, and we are not that company. We quote the parts list once your installer has produced the view schedule from your chapter of the manual: cameras from our D-Link surveillance range, switches with the PoE budget to carry them, storage sized for your retention figure, and a UPS that meets the 30 minute rule. Every item is quoted rather than priced, so send the camera count and the retention period through the contact page.
Cover photo: Surveillance camera shadow (Unsplash), via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).
