Systems and methods for coded visual markers in a surveillance system. An exemplary system includes a camera to capture images of a secure area, memory to store identifiers for persons that are authorized to be in the secure area, and a processor communicatively coupled with the camera and the memory. The processor analyzes the images to detect a person in the secure area and detects a pattern of a light source at the person. The processor then decodes the pattern of the light source and authorizes the person in the secure area based on a match between the decoded pattern of the light source and an identifier stored in the memory of one of the persons authorized to be in the secure area.