Choose and document CCTV retention for a UK site
Prepared 22 October 2026 by NightMarshal

For UK surveillance, the ICO says there is no fixed minimum or maximum retention period under the UK GDPR and DPA 2018. Choose the shortest period needed for the stated purpose and document the reason, deletion process and justified preservation exceptions.

Instructions
1. Assign a privacy owner and stated recording purpose.
2. Document the retention rationale and preservation process.
3. Verify deletion settings and review copies.

Open the blank CSV in a spreadsheet app; add one row per item. Use Pending for unknowns and N/A only where a field truly does not apply. Review the separate example CSV; all example values are fictional. Keep completed sheets private. Do not include passwords, access codes, personal contacts, footage links or camera stream URLs. No input is collected by these downloads.

Fields
Record class
Purpose
Period to approve
Rationale
Deletion owner
Preservation reference

Fictional example
Fictional policy review: a site discovers incidents only after weekend closure. Its privacy owner assesses that need and records a justified period without treating this example as a prescribed number of days.

Limits
UK scope only. This planning aid is not legal advice; other countries and specific preservation duties may differ.