Martyn's Law for pubs, shops and venues

Martyn's Law is the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. It applies across the UK, with the same duties, thresholds and regulator in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) enforces it.

When the duties start

The main duties start on a day the Secretary of State sets by regulations. No regulations have set one, so the Act does not yet bind your pub or shop and the SIA cannot issue penalties.

Whether your premises are covered

Your premises are covered when all of these apply:

• they are a building, or a building and other land such as a beer garden
• they are wholly or mainly used for a listed purpose
• you can reasonably expect 200 or more people to be there at the same time, from time to time
• they are not excluded premises

Listed purposes include selling food or drink to be consumed on the premises, retail sale to visiting members of the public, entertainment and hotels. Pubs and shops are not excluded. Excluded premises include Parliament, the devolved parliaments and governments, open-air sites with no checks that people have paid or hold a ticket or membership, and sites under a transport security regime.

It does not matter that access is limited to ticket holders, members or guests. A shop inside a shopping centre counts only its own customers and staff. The centre operator assesses the centre as a whole. A retail chain assesses each store separately, so some stores can be outside the Act while others are covered.

Working out how many people to expect

The test is the number of people you can reasonably expect, not your licensed capacity. You count everyone present for the covered use at the same time.

"From time to time" means occasionally. It is not an average across a day or week. A big televised match that fills your pub counts if you can expect a similar crowd again. A one-off crowd you could not have foreseen does not. A pub with 175 people on weekdays and 200 or more most weekends is covered.

You can estimate your number from any of these, adding staff and any outdoor area they do not cover:

• the safe occupancy in your fire risk assessment
• records of your peak attendance
• fixed seating and standing positions
• the maximum tickets or bookings you issue
• a maximum capacity set by your alcohol or entertainment licence

Keep a dated record of your figure and your method, and review it. You will give both when you notify the SIA, and the SIA can ask you to explain how you reached the figure.

Standard tier duties

Once the duties start, the person responsible for standard tier premises must:

• put in place, so far as reasonably practicable, procedures to reduce the risk of physical harm if an act of terrorism occurs at the premises or nearby
• co-ordinate with anyone else who is responsible for the same premises
• notify the SIA

The procedures are for your staff to follow if they suspect an attack is happening or about to happen. They cover 4 actions: evacuating people, moving people to a safer place inside the premises, preventing people entering or leaving, and telling people what to do.

The Act does not require you to buy training or specialist services.

Enhanced tier duties

The person responsible for enhanced tier premises has the standard duties and must also:

• assess, review and put in place public protection measures
• prepare and keep up to date a compliance document that sets out your procedures and measures and assesses how they reduce risk
• where the responsible person is not an individual, designate a senior individual in the management or control of the business to make sure it complies

The measures cover monitoring of the premises and the area around them, movement of people, physical security and security of information. Send the SIA a copy of the compliance document as soon as reasonably practicable after you prepare it, and a revised copy within 30 days of each revision. A sole trader does not need to designate a senior individual.

Events at your premises

An event is a qualifying event when the public can attend, entry checks apply and the premises are not enhanced tier. You must also reasonably expect a crowd large enough for the enhanced tier at some point. A qualifying event always carries the enhanced duties for as long as it runs. There is no standard tier for events.

A standard tier pub that hosts a one-off ticketed event of that size stays standard tier outside the event. A pub that holds an event of that size from time to time, for example once a year, is likely to become enhanced tier premises. The person who controls the premises during the event is responsible, which can be a hirer.

Who is the responsible person

The responsible person is whoever controls the premises for the covered use. Several people can be responsible for the same premises.

The tenant of a pub leased from a brewery or pub company is in control, so the tenant is responsible and the brewery or pub company is not. A retailer leasing a unit is responsible for it, not the landlord. A shop or pub inside a shopping centre co-ordinates with the centre operator.

If your premises have more than one covered use, the principal use decides who is responsible. The principal use is the one that relates most closely to the purpose and nature of the premises. You cannot transfer your responsibility to someone else, but a security adviser can help you meet it.

Notifying the SIA

The responsible person, or someone they authorise, notifies the SIA through its online portal. The notification gives:

• the names and contact details of the responsible person and anyone else who co-ordinates
• the address of the premises and the covered use
• the greatest number of people you can reasonably expect and the method you used
• any alcohol, entertainment or sports ground licences you hold
• whether the premises are part of larger premises

Giving the SIA information that you know is false, or are reckless about, is a criminal offence.

How the SIA enforces the Act

The SIA checks compliance by desk-based assessment and on-site inspection. It must give you the chance to make representations before it issues a compliance notice.

A penalty notice gives you at least 28 days to pay, and the SIA must make the penalty appropriate and proportionate. For enhanced tier premises and events, the SIA can also issue a restriction notice. It can limit how you use the premises, when you open or how many people you admit, for up to 6 months unless it varies the notice.

Acting in line with the statutory guidance issued under section 27 counts as evidence that you did not break the Act.

Fire safety law still applies

Martyn's Law sits beside fire safety law and does not replace it. The responsible person under fire safety law is a different legal role from the responsible person under Martyn's Law.

Where to get help

The SIA advises businesses on how to comply. Ask the SIA about your assessment or who is responsible, and check its Martyn's Law pages for the start date once it is set.