Every week a building owner asks us the same question: do I have to wire my cameras into the Ministry of Interior? Short answer: no, not by default. But the Ministry can order it whenever it wants, and the law expects your system to be ready when the order lands.
What Law 61/2015 Actually Says
Article 2 does two things. First, every covered establishment must install security cameras, run them around the clock, and operate them from a central control room. No exceptions, no waiting to be asked. Second, it hands the General Directorate of Security Systems a switch: where public interest requires, it can oblige any establishment to link its cameras to whatever body the Ministry names.
There is no blanket streaming rule today. But refuse a linking order and you've committed a crime. Up to a year in jail, a fine of KD 1,000 to 5,000, or both.
So the real question isn't whether you're connected. It's whether you could connect tomorrow. A system built to the Ministry's technical spec (Decision 5003/2015) links with a configuration change. A system that isn't means a rebuild on someone else's deadline.
Is Your Building on the List?
Hotels and hotel apartments, malls, co-ops, residential complexes, banks and exchange houses, gold shops, clubs and youth centres, hospitals and clinics, fuel stations, warehouses holding valuable or hazardous goods. Cabinet Decision 207/2019 widened the net, and the Ministry's current list also names mosques, industrial areas, marinas and shooting ranges.
Investment buildings? Rental towers sit inside the residential-complex category the Ministry enforces, and rental buildings are a current campaign target. Assume the law applies to you.
What Inspectors Actually Check
- Cameras installed to spec, running 24/7, with a control room
- Visible signs saying the premises are under surveillance. Skip them: KD 500 to 1,000
- Recordings kept 120 days, untouched, then destroyed
- No footage handed to anyone without written approval from prosecutors or a court. Yes, that includes the WhatsApp clip
- The whole system maintained and current. A dead camera counts as no camera
Retention and disclosure breaches carry up to three years and KD 10,000. Using footage to defame or blackmail goes up to five years and KD 20,000. And these inspectors hold judicial powers: they can enter, search, seize and refer you straight to prosecution.
Why This Matters Right Now
This month the Ministry publicly called on owners in every covered category to comply, while criminal security runs sweeps on rental buildings. Reminders like that usually come before inspections. Move first and you pick your own timeline.
Build It Link-Ready
At Aspire Security we build every Law 61 installation to one standard: compliant today, connection-ready tomorrow. Ministry-spec cameras, a proper control room, 120-day retention set correctly from day one, and an architecture that plugs into an operations room the day an order arrives. Nothing gets ripped out.
Not sure your building would pass this week? Book a free Law 61 compliance assessment with Aspire Security. We'll audit your system against the Ministry's specifications and hand you a clear path to full compliance.
For the full breakdown of who the law covers, read our guide to Kuwait CCTV Law 2015/61.
General information on Kuwait's Law No. 61 of 2015, not legal advice. For rulings on a specific property, consult the General Directorate of Security Systems or qualified counsel.
