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Free SIA security mock test
Forty questions in 60 minutes on data protection, the Surveillance Camera Code, RIPA, control room procedure, camera equipment and evidence handling.
Each attempt picks a new set of questions from a bank of 52, so you can practise as often as you like.
Personal data must not be kept longer than necessary. The scheme sets a retention period that matches its purpose and deletes routine footage after it.
Behaviour like this is a reason to watch more closely and gather facts. It is not proof of an offence, and the operator does not decide guilt.
The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 sets the general duties on employers and employees. The other Acts deal with data, licensing and discrimination.
The organisation that owns the scheme is the data controller. It decides the purposes of the system and is accountable for how images are used.
Planned covert monitoring of a named person is directed surveillance and needs proper authorisation. The control room should see or record that authorisation before acting.
Images from which a living person can be identified are personal data. The scheme must handle them in line with the data protection principles.
An unattended, unlocked workstation behind an open door lets anyone view or copy personal data. The other three are good security practice.
The Information Commissioner's Office is the independent regulator for data protection. It can issue guidance, notices and fines.
The question bank has 52 questions across these topics. Every attempt mixes them at random.
CCTV work is governed by more law than most people expect, and the paper reflects that. You will be asked what the Data Protection Act and UK GDPR mean for recorded images, how long footage can be kept, who may ask for it and how, what the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice requires of an operator, and when directed surveillance under RIPA needs an authorisation. The rest of the paper is practical: how to pan, tilt and zoom to get a usable image, how to track a subject across cameras, how to log an incident, and how to download and label footage so it stands up as evidence.
An operator who records the wrong thing, keeps it too long or hands it to the wrong person can turn a good piece of evidence into a complaint against the control room. The questions test whether you know the line, and the explanations say where it is.
Work through the bank in practice mode until the law questions feel routine, then sit the timed 40 question test. The practical assessment on the camera equipment is separate and is marked by your trainer on the course.
Two written papers. Unit 1, the principles of working in the private security industry, and the CCTV operator paper this page practises. There is also a practical assessment on the cameras.
Forty multiple choice questions in 60 minutes, with a pass mark of 70 per cent, so 28 correct answers.
About half of it. Data protection, the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice, human rights, RIPA and subject access requests all come up. The other half is about how a control room runs, the equipment, surveillance technique and keeping evidence usable in court.
No. The CCTV licence is for public space surveillance. To work on a door you need the Door Supervisor licence, and our Door Supervisor and CCTV bundle covers both.
Questions last checked: 20 October 2026. These are practice questions written for London SIA Course, not the official exam papers.
Practise with our free mock tests until you pass comfortably, then book your course.