HOW TO HIRE · ELECTRICAL

How to hire a CCTV installer in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No licence applies to CCTV installers, but cameras that see beyond your boundary bring data protection duties. The checks, the questions and the handover.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a CCTV installer in five steps

  1. Decide what each camera must seeFront door, drive, back garden — and what it must not see.
  2. Ask about privacy settingsAngles, privacy masking and audio off where it is not needed.
  3. Get the system specifiedCameras, resolution, recorder, storage and remote viewing.
  4. Plan the cablingWired cameras need cable runs; Wi-Fi ones need a strong signal.
  5. Learn to export and deleteYou are responsible for recordings; the installer should show you how.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Installing a CCTV system is not a licensable activity under Schedule 2 to the Private Security Industry Act 2001, so no licence or register applies to CCTV installers in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Check insurance and a written specification of the CCTV system instead. legislation.gov.uk →

Data protection beyond your boundary

gov.uk's domestic CCTV guidance says that if cameras capture images of people outside your property — neighbours' homes or gardens, shared spaces or public areas — the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply to you, enforced by the Information Commissioner's Office.

Ask the installer to angle each camera onto your own property and show you any privacy masking. gov.uk →

Monitoring: SIA licence

Watching CCTV to guard premises or people as a contracted service needs an SIA public space surveillance licence; installing cameras does not.

If anyone will monitor the CCTV system for you, check their licence on the SIA register. gov.uk →

Insurance and trader status

Expect public liability cover for the CCTV system, and ask for the insurer's name and the limit. Because you are buying from a trader, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies to the CCTV system; agreed in your home or at a distance, it usually carries a 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, although work you asked to begin early is paid for and made-to-measure goods are excluded (regulation 28).

Ask for the insurance certificate before the CCTV system is booked, and look for the trader and ID-checked badges on the Locufy profile.

VAT

Installing CCTV cameras and the recorder is standard-rated, so VAT is 20%; a firm with taxable turnover over £90,000 must be VAT-registered, charge that 20% and show it as a separate line on the quote and invoice.

Ask for the VAT number, and look for VAT as its own line on the camera and recorder quote. gov.uk →

“What will each CCTV camera see?”

A good answer: A view agreed per camera, kept to your own property where possible, with privacy masking for anything beyond it.

“Does the CCTV system record audio, and can it be turned off?”

A good answer: Yes, with audio off by default unless you need it; gov.uk's guidance asks you to think about whether you need it.

“Where are recordings stored, and for how long?”

A good answer: On a recorder or in the cloud, with a retention period you set — no longer than needed to protect your property.

“Will you show me how to export footage?”

A good answer: Yes; gov.uk's guidance says to ask your installer how to operate the system and export footage if required.

“Wired or Wi-Fi cameras?”

A good answer: The trade-off for your home: wired for reliability, Wi-Fi for easy fitting, with the signal checked.

“How are the CCTV cameras and recorder secured?”

A good answer: Default passwords changed, firmware updated and remote access set up securely.

Getting the quote right

  • Each camera by model, resolution and position
  • Recorder, storage size and retention set-up
  • Cabling routes and any power supplies
  • Remote viewing and app set-up
  • Who actually attends — the engineer who fits and sets up the cameras, employed or subcontracted — and the business's VAT number, with VAT at 20% shown as its own line

Walk away if

  • Points cameras at the neighbours 'for wider coverage'
  • Leaves default passwords on the recorder
  • No written camera list
  • Won't show you how to export or delete footage
  • Offers to monitor the cameras without an SIA licence
LOW
£300
TYPICAL
£700
HIGH
£2,500

What a CCTV installer costs: £300–£2,500 per install

CCTV is quoted per installation, mainly by the number of cameras; resolution, the recorder and long cable runs add to it. CCTV Installation price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

CCTV installers near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. SurveyCamera positions, views and cable routes agreed with you.
  2. InstallCameras mounted, cables run, recorder set up.
  3. ConfigureAngles, privacy masks, recording schedule and retention set.
  4. SecurePasswords changed, firmware updated, remote viewing set up.
  5. Hand overHow to view, export and delete footage shown to you.

NVR
Network video recorder: stores footage from IP cameras.
PoE
Power over Ethernet: one cable carries power and data to a camera.
Privacy masking
Blacking out parts of an image so they are not recorded.
Retention period
How long recordings are kept before deletion.
Subject access request
A person's request to see footage of themselves.
Public space surveillance licence
The SIA licence for monitoring CCTV as a contracted service.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the specification and passwords safeCamera list, recorder details and passwords changed from defaults.
Check every viewEach camera's picture by day and night, and the privacy masks.
Put up a noticegov.uk's guidance suggests telling neighbours and putting up a sign that recording is taking place.
Review the jobOnly booked jobs can be reviewed on Locufy, so yours carries weight; if the CCTV system falls short, use the make-it-right step first and the provider is asked to fix it before the review is published.

STEP 1Contact the installer in writingExplain clearly what has gone wrong with the CCTV system, what the quote or contract said, and when you need it put right. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats reasonable care and skill as part of the deal, and lets you claim a redo or a reduction when it is not met.
STEP 2Use Locufy's make-it-right stepRate the CCTV system under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the provider first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3Data protection, monitoring or a trading disputeA complaint that the CCTV system intrudes on someone's privacy goes to the Information Commissioner's Office; unlicensed monitoring goes to the Security Industry Authority. For a dispute about the installation, Trading Standards is reached through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeIf the CCTV system is still not settled, you can claim without a solicitor: the small claims track takes claims up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a CCTV installer: questions people ask

No. Installing CCTV is not licensable under the Private Security Industry Act 2001. Monitoring CCTV for others as a contracted service needs an SIA public space surveillance licence.

If it captures images beyond your property's boundary, gov.uk's guidance says the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 apply to you.

£300–£2,500 an installation, typically around £700. The number of cameras drives it, with wired recorders, resolution and long cable runs adding more. The full figures sit in the CCTV Installation price guide; the postcode search above lists CCTV installers close to you with their prices.

Avoid it: angle cameras onto your own property, use privacy masking, and if images go beyond your boundary, data protection duties apply.

No longer than you need to protect your property, then delete it, as gov.uk's guidance advises.

Low-voltage camera cabling is minor work; any new mains supply for the recorder or cameras should be tested and certified.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in electrical

How to hire: Burglar Alarm InstallationHow to hire: Data & Network CablingHow to hire: Outdoor & Garden LightingHow to hire: ElectricianHow to hire: Lighting InstallationHow to hire: Extra SocketsHow to hire: Smoke & Heat Alarm InstallationHow to hire: TV Aerial & Satellite InstallationAll 701 hiring guides →

CCTV installers near you

CCTV installers in LondonCCTV installers in ManchesterCCTV installers in BirminghamCCTV installers in GlasgowCCTV installers in BelfastAll cctv installers on Locufy →Do it yourself: fitting a battery or plug-in security camera →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — domestic CCTV: using CCTV systems on your property
  2. Private Security Industry Act 2001, Schedule 2 — the licensable activities
  3. gov.uk — find out if you need an SIA licence
  4. gov.uk — check security staff have a licence
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — what you can ask for when a service falls short
  7. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — the 14-day cancellation period
  8. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — contracts the cancellation right does not cover
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 — services started within the cancellation period
  10. Civil Procedure Rules Part 26 — the small claims track limit (England and Wales)
  11. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — making a claim under simple procedure
  12. nidirect — the small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  13. Buildings and construction (VAT Notice 708) — 2.1 Construction services: work to an existing building is normally standard-rated
  14. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  15. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register