For most small businesses in the New York area, 30 days is a sound minimum retention period for security camera footage, with 60 to 90 days for higher-risk businesses and longer for footage related to an incident, a claim or a legal hold. There is no single New York rule that fixes retention for every business. Your needs depend on how fast you discover problems, what your insurer and landlord expect, what your industry requires and whether any claim or investigation is pending. This guide explains how to choose a retention period, how much storage it takes and how to write a simple policy. It is general information, not legal advice.
1. The Short Version
| Situation | Practical retention |
|---|---|
| Small shop or office, low risk | 30 days |
| Restaurant, bar, bodega, convenience store | 30 to 60 days |
| Warehouse or high-value inventory | 60 to 90 days |
| Apartment building common areas | 30 to 60 days |
| Business with an insurance or landlord requirement | Whatever they require, at minimum |
| Footage of an incident, claim or dispute | Keep until resolved, and ask a lawyer |
| Footage of employees, customers and children | Keep only as long as needed, and protect it |
2. Why 30 Days Is a Common Floor
Many issues are not discovered right away. A short drawer might be found at the end of a month. A customer might file a claim two or three weeks later. A burglary pattern might only become clear after several incidents. A landlord or insurer might ask for footage weeks later. A recorder that overwrites in seven days can erase the evidence before anyone asks. Thirty days covers most routine discovery and claim periods for ordinary small businesses.
3. Factors That Push Retention Up
Higher risk. Cash businesses, high-value inventory and late-night hours.
Slow discovery. Inventory counts or audits happen monthly or quarterly.
Insurer or landlord requirements. Some require minimum retention.
Industry rules or contracts. Regulated industries and some contracts set standards.
Claims and disputes. Customer injuries, employment complaints and vendor disputes may take time to surface.
Pattern crime. In September 2026, NYPD sought two suspects in 19 commercial burglaries across 16 Brooklyn neighborhoods, according to News 12. The report did not mention footage, but a pattern across many locations shows why businesses benefit from retention that allows investigators to connect incidents.
4. Factors That Push Retention Down
Privacy concerns. The longer you keep footage of employees, customers and children, the more you must protect.
Storage cost. More days require bigger drives. Storage is cheap compared with value, but it adds up for large systems.
Policy. You may decide to delete routine footage after a set period to reduce risk.
Legal advice. Your attorney may recommend a retention schedule.
5. Legal Holds and Pending Matters
Whatever your standard policy, if you know of a claim, investigation, lawsuit or likely dispute, preserve related footage. Do not let the recorder overwrite it. Export the relevant clips and ask your attorney how long to keep them. Deleting footage you reasonably should have preserved can create legal problems. If police ask for footage, preserve it and follow our steps for giving footage to the NYPD.
6. Local Rules and Proposals
Some local governments have considered requiring businesses to retain and share footage. In May 2026, the Suffolk County Legislature considered a bill that would require larger public-facing businesses with fixed cameras to preserve footage of a felony and give it to police within a day, with fines for violations, according to News 12 Long Island. I could not confirm the bill's final status, so check current Suffolk County law if you operate there. Even where no law applies, the lesson is practical: be able to find and export footage quickly.
NYC businesses can also join the NYPD's free Community Camera Sharing Program, which allows the NYPD to view a live feed only during a crime or emergency at your location. Joining does not change your retention obligations.
7. Storage Math
Retention depends on storage size, number of cameras, resolution, compression and recording mode. As a rough guide for 4 MP cameras recording continuously with H.265 compression at about 2.5 Mbps each:
| Cameras | 30 days | 60 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3.2 TB | 6.5 TB | 9.7 TB |
| 8 | 6.5 TB | 13 TB | 19.4 TB |
| 16 | 13 TB | 26 TB | 39 TB |
Use motion recording on quiet cameras to reduce space. Add RAID for protection. See our storage guide for the formula. Always buy more storage than the minimum, because retention is a maximum, not a promise.
8. Privacy and Data Security
Footage can include personal information. New York's SHIELD Act, General Business Law section 899-bb, requires businesses that own or license computerized data including private information of New York residents to maintain reasonable safeguards, with a scaled standard for small businesses. See the text at nysenate.gov. Video alone may not always be "private information," but your systems may contain such data. Protect your recorder with strong passwords, limit access, keep software updated and delete footage on schedule. See our guide to protecting camera footage.
9. A Simple Retention Policy
A one-page policy is enough for most small businesses. Include:
- Purpose. Security, safety, loss prevention and dispute resolution.
- Retention period. For example, 30 days for routine footage.
- Legal holds. Footage related to an incident or claim is exported and kept until released by management or counsel.
- Access. Only named managers can view and export footage.
- Exports. Exports are logged with date, requester and reason.
- Requests. Police and legal requests go to a named person.
- Security. Strong passwords, locked recorder, updates and a plan for lost devices.
- Deletion. Footage is deleted automatically after the period unless on hold.
- Review. The policy is reviewed once a year.
Ask an attorney to review it.
10. News Context
Retention has real consequences. In August 2026, ABC7 reported that thieves broke into several Bay Ridge restaurants overnight, and surveillance cameras captured a hooded figure with a flashlight searching a basement, according to ABC7 New York. A restaurant that discovers the break-in the next morning needs footage from the night before, and one that finds out about missing cash a week later needs a longer record.
NYPD reported burglary down 19.5% and retail theft down 15% citywide in May 2026 compared with May 2025 (NYPD).
11. Common Retention Mistakes
Default settings. Recorders may overwrite after 7 or 14 days by default.
Drive failure. If a drive fails, retention is gone. Monitor health.
No testing. Verify that you can find a clip from last month.
Wrong clock. Footage with the wrong time can confuse investigations.
No legal hold plan. After an incident, staff may forget to export.
Over-retention. Keeping everything forever creates risk.
Unprotected exports. USB drives with footage get lost.
12. Questions to Ask Your Installer
- How many days will my recorder keep at current settings?
- What happens when the drive fills?
- Can we set different retention for different cameras?
- Does the recorder support RAID or alerts for drive failure?
- How do I lock important clips?
- Can you help me write a simple policy?
See our local pages for commercial camera installation in Brooklyn, business installation in Queens, Manhattan and our services page.
Not sure how long your system actually keeps footage? Revolvis will walk the property with you and mark the spots.
13. A Sample Case
A Queens deli with eight cameras records continuously to an 8 TB drive. The recorder is set to overwrite when full, which at the current settings is about 38 days. The owner decides on a 30-day policy, schedules a monthly test of an old clip and tells the manager to export and keep any footage related to a customer complaint or break-in. The owner also adds a second 8 TB drive for 60 days of coverage on the register and door cameras. The total additional cost is small, and the owner now knows the system will hold up when a problem surfaces.
More From Revolvis
Cameras are one layer of a secure property. The same in-house crew also handles the rest:
- Keyless entry installation and smart lock installation
- Access control systems and commercial access control
- Video doorbells and intercoms
- Alarm system installation
- Complete unified security
Learn more about Revolvis, meet the team, see all services, browse the blog or contact us.
Areas We Serve
Revolvis installs residential and commercial camera systems across the New York metro area. Every borough and county has its own building stock, rules and wiring challenges, so the plan for a Queens two-family is not the plan for a Manhattan co-op.
- Staten Island: houses, detached garages and shop fronts. See security camera installation in Staten Island.
- Brooklyn: brownstones, row houses and storefronts. See security camera installation in Brooklyn.
- Queens: attached brick homes, two-families and busy commercial strips. See security camera installation in Queens.
- The Bronx: pre-war buildings, bodegas and warehouses. See security camera installation in the Bronx.
- Manhattan: co-ops, condos, offices and retail. See security camera installation in Manhattan.
- Long Island: Nassau County and Suffolk County.
- New Jersey: Jersey City, Newark, Hoboken and nearby towns.
The full list is on the service areas page.
Get a Custom Quote After a Site Visit
Revolvis prices every job after a site visit, because the building sets the cost as much as the equipment does. A few things make the estimate faster and more accurate:
- The address and property type: house, apartment, co-op, condo, storefront or warehouse.
- Which doors, sides and areas you want covered, and what worries you most.
- Photos of those spots and any spots where you already have cabling or power.
- How many days of footage you want to keep and whether you want to watch on your phone.
- Any landlord, board, lender or insurer requirement.
Call 347-258-9165 or use the contact page to book a site visit. The quote you receive is written and itemized, so you can compare it line by line.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a business keep security camera footage? Thirty days is a common minimum, with 60 to 90 days for higher-risk businesses and longer for incidents or legal holds.
Is there a New York law that sets retention? There is no single rule for all businesses. Check your industry, contracts, insurers and local proposals.
Should I keep footage longer if there is an incident? Yes. Export and preserve related clips, and ask an attorney how long to keep them.
Does more retention mean more storage? Yes. Add drives or use motion recording on quiet cameras.
Should I delete old footage? Following a written retention schedule is a good practice, unless a legal hold applies.
Who should have access? A small group of named managers, with logs of exports.
Ready for a custom quote? Call Revolvis at 347-258-9165 for a site visit and a written, itemized estimate.
Safety note: A camera system supports, but does not replace, good locks, lighting, alarms and everyday habits. If you are in danger or witnessing a crime, call 911. Prices and legal summaries in this guide are general information for the New York metro area, not an offer or legal advice. A written quote after a site visit governs your actual price, and for legal questions you should confirm with the agencies linked in the article or a licensed attorney.