How long should a home CCTV system keep footage?
CCTV retention is not a fixed number. Camera settings, recording mode and storage determine how far back you can review footage at home.
Short answer
Short answer
There is no single retention period that suits every home. Decide how far back you may need to investigate an event, then size the recorder for the camera count, image settings, recording mode and storage available. Thirty days may suit some properties, but it is not a universal residential rule. Check the oldest playable recording on the finished system before relying on an estimate.
Start with the event you might need to find
A missing parcel may be noticed immediately; damage near a side gate may not be found until days later. Consider how long an incident could go unnoticed at your property, especially when the household travels. That investigation window is a better starting point than choosing a hard-drive size in isolation.
Victoria Police recommends adequate, secure storage and clear day-and-night images for a CCTV system. Its homeowner guidance does not prescribe one number of retention days. Aim for a useful recording at the time you need it, rather than more days of footage that has lost important detail.
Official source: Victoria Police: CCTV installation(opens in a new tab)
What changes how long footage is kept?
Many recorders reuse storage in a rolling cycle: new footage eventually overwrites older footage. How soon that happens depends on what each camera records and the space available. Adding a camera or changing image settings can shorten the time you can look back.
- Camera count: each recorded stream uses storage.
- Resolution, frame rate and bitrate: more image data generally needs more space.
- Compression and scene activity: a busy scene can produce more data than a quiet one, especially with variable bitrate.
- Recording mode: continuous recording and event recording use storage differently.
- Storage capacity and allocation: check usable space and any additional streams or expiry settings.
Official source: Luma x20: recorder settings and overwrite behaviour(opens in a new tab)
Continuous and event recording have different trade-offs
Continuous recording gives a timeline while the cameras and recorder are running. Event recording can save storage during quiet periods, but it depends on the detection areas, sensitivity, schedule and event rules being set well. A missed event can leave no clip; too many events can remove the expected storage saving.
Some systems can mix the approaches across cameras. Pre-event and post-event recording add context around a trigger and also use space. Ask which mode each camera uses rather than assuming the whole property is recorded in the same way.
Official source: Luma x20: recording modes and pre-event settings(opens in a new tab)
Why 30 days is not a universal rule
Thirty days can be a design target when it matches how far back you may need to search and the recorder can deliver it at useful image quality. It is not an automatic requirement or guarantee for every home. A busy multi-camera system may keep less than a smaller or quieter one on the same storage.
If cameras serve a business, workplace or shared property, the applicable privacy and record-keeping responsibilities may differ from a private household. Ask for advice specific to that use before copying a home setting.
Official source: OAIC: security cameras and privacy(opens in a new tab)
Save important footage before it disappears
Rolling recording is not an evidence archive. If an incident matters, find and export the relevant clip before it is overwritten or expires. Keep the original date and time context, use the recorder's supported export process and store the copy securely.
The exact playback and export steps vary by recorder and app. Practise finding and exporting a harmless test clip while the system is working, so an urgent event is not your first attempt.
Official source: Luma x20: recording playback and export(opens in a new tab)
What to check on the finished system
A storage calculation is a planning estimate. Check real footage after installation and after material changes to camera settings. If the oldest playable recording falls short of your needs, revisit the design rather than silently reducing image quality.
- The retention period you want and the oldest recording that actually plays back.
- The number of cameras, image settings and usable recorder storage.
- Whether each camera records continuously, on a schedule or on selected events.
- How to find a clip by camera, date and time, then export it before it is overwritten.
- Who can view, export or change recordings, and when to reassess storage after adding cameras.
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