Fill it in on site, sign on screen, and send a professional CCTV PDF before you leave the job.
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A CCTV commissioning certificate records that a camera system has been installed, configured and proven working at handover. It captures the recorder and cameras fitted, how long footage is retained, and the tests carried out to show that recording, playback and remote access all work as intended before the customer takes over the system.
It is completed whenever a new CCTV installation is handed over, and it matters beyond the technical checks. Commercial operators have duties under UK GDPR and ICO guidance, and even domestic systems engage data protection law where cameras capture beyond the property boundary, so the certificate also records the signage, privacy zones and coverage decisions made at install.
TradePlanr lets you complete the certificate on your phone or tablet at the property, verify each camera view as you walk the system, confirm the data protection and password checks, capture the customer's signature and issue a branded PDF on site with a copy stored against the job.
On commercial installations the operator has duties under UK GDPR and the ICO's surveillance guidance, and insurers increasingly expect evidence that a CCTV system was commissioned properly. The certificate documents the retention, signage and privacy settings the system was handed over with.
On domestic installations, cameras that capture beyond the property boundary — a neighbour's garden, the pavement or road — bring the system within UK GDPR, so recording that coverage was set proportionately and the customer was advised protects both parties.
A signed commissioning certificate is valuable handover evidence in any later dispute, whether about footage quality, retention or what the system was capable of on the day it was handed over.
Record the NVR or DVR make and model, the number of channels, the storage fitted, the retention period in days and whether remote access is configured.
Confirm signage is in place, privacy zones are set, coverage is proportionate to its purpose and that you have advised the customer of their UK GDPR and ICO duties.
Log each camera's location, type and resolution, and verify its view on the monitor as you walk the system so the schedule shows every camera is delivering the intended coverage.
Test recording, playback and export, night and IR performance, time synchronisation and remote access, and confirm all default passwords have been changed.
Record the customer training given, capture their signature and generate a branded PDF certificate on site, with a copy stored against the job.
TradePlanr generates this and 45+ other gas, electrical, oil, plumbing and renewables certificates as proper PDFs — filled on site, signed on screen and stored against the job. Works even with no signal. Free to start.
A domestic system that only captures within the property boundary falls outside data protection law. Where cameras capture beyond the boundary, ICO guidance says the householder becomes a data controller under UK GDPR and should operate the system responsibly — signage, limited retention and respecting neighbours — though domestic operators are exempt from paying the ICO data protection fee.
There is no fixed legal period — UK GDPR requires footage to be kept no longer than necessary for its purpose. Around 30 days is common, and many systems overwrite sooner depending on storage. The certificate records the retention period configured at handover so the operator knows what their system actually keeps.
Recorders and cameras ship with published default credentials, and internet-connected systems left on defaults are routinely found and accessed by strangers. Changing every default password at commissioning, and recording that on the certificate, is one of the most important security steps in the whole installation.
Privacy zones mask areas of a camera's view — a neighbour's window or garden, for example — so they are never recorded. They should be set wherever a camera's field of view unavoidably takes in areas beyond what the system needs to cover, keeping the coverage proportionate.
Yes. TradePlanr lets you complete the camera schedule and commissioning tests on your phone or tablet, capture the customer's signature and generate a branded PDF certificate before you leave the property.
