Does Martyn's Law apply to my venue? Standard vs Enhanced duty explained

A premises is a qualifying premises under the Act if all four of the following are true:^[1]

• check_circleIt consists of a building, or a building together with other land.
• check_circleIt is wholly or mainly used for one or more of the uses listed in Schedule 1 of the Act. These are broad, public-facing categories: shops, food and drink, nightclubs and entertainment venues, sports grounds, recreation and leisure, libraries and museums, halls for hire, hotels, places of worship, healthcare, education, childcare and public services among others.
• check_circleIt is reasonable to expect that at least 200 individuals may be present at the same time, at least occasionally.
• check_circleIt is not excluded under Schedule 2 (for example Parliament and the devolved legislatures, and certain transport premises already covered by other security regimes).

The threshold is not your licensed capacity, your fire capacity or your floor area. It is the number of individuals it is reasonable to expect to be present at the same time, and it includes everyone: visitors, customers, employees, contractors and volunteers.^[2]

The statutory guidance asks responsible persons to use a reasonable method of assessment and to keep evidence of how the figure was reached. Sensible approaches include historic attendance data, ticketing records, or recognised occupancy calculations. The question is what is reasonably expected at your busiest times, not your theoretical maximum on the best day you have ever had. A one-off, unforeseeable spike does not by itself bring you into scope.^[2]

Because the figure includes staff and reflects how the premises is actually used, it is worth doing this assessment properly and writing it down. It determines whether you are in scope at all and which tier you fall into, and it is the record you would show the SIA if asked.^[2]

Once you know your expected number, the tiers are simple:^[3]

• check_circle200 to 799 individuals: standard duty. Notify the SIA and put in place evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication procedures so far as reasonably practicable. See the standard tier requirements.
• check_circle800 or more individuals: enhanced duty. Everything in the standard tier, plus documented public protection measures, a compliance document for the SIA, and a designated senior individual where the responsible person is an organisation. See the enhanced tier requirements.

Several categories of premises do not follow the normal tiering, and they are worth checking carefully.

Places of worship remain in the standard tier even where 800 or more people are expected.^[2] The same applies to childcare and to primary, secondary and further education premises. Higher education premises, such as universities, are treated like any other premises and can be enhanced tier.^[2]

Excluded premises under Schedule 2 are outside the Act entirely. These include the UK Parliament and devolved legislatures and certain transport premises that are already subject to their own security regulation.^[1]

Qualifying events are a separate route into the Act. An open-air festival, fireworks display or agricultural show on land that is not itself a qualifying premises can still be caught where 800 or more individuals, including staff, are expected at the same time at some point during the event, and entry is controlled by tickets, payment, passes or membership checks. Qualifying events carry duties equivalent to the enhanced tier.^[2]

The duties fall on the responsible person: the individual, organisation or company in control of the premises in connection with its Schedule 1 use. For a tenanted pub that is usually the operator rather than the freeholder; for a hired hall it is normally the premises operator rather than the hirer. Where a building has several qualifying uses, responsibility follows the principal use, and where there are multiple responsible persons they must co-ordinate with each other.^[2]

If you operate several sites, each premises is assessed on its own numbers. A group of eight pubs, each expecting 250 people, is eight standard tier premises, not one enhanced tier business.

If you are out of scope, keep a note of your capacity assessment and revisit it if your operations change. Growth, a new event series or a change of use can move you into scope.

If you are standard or enhanced tier, the Act is not yet in force, but the Home Office encourages early preparation and published statutory guidance in April 2026 for exactly that purpose.^[2] Run your numbers through our eligibility checker, then look at our pricing for a plan matched to your tier.