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Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025
The law, in plain English
What Martyn's Law really means for qualifying premises and events, for the people who have to do it — without the jargon.
This is general guidance to help you get your bearings — not legal advice, and not the last word. For the official position, see the statutory guidance on GOV.UK and the advice at ProtectUK (protectuk.police.uk).
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Martyn's Law explained
What the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 asks of qualifying premises and events, in plain English.
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Who is the Responsible Person?
How the duty is allocated, what can be delegated, and what happens when more than one organisation shares a site.
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Standard Tier or Enhanced Tier?
The capacity guide, the exceptions that matter, and why capacity alone does not settle it.
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How to work out if you reach 200
The number that decides whether you are in scope is the most people expected at once — not your total through the day. How to count it, who to include, and why to write the reasoning down.
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Hall hire: who is responsible?
When a village or community hall is hired out, who carries the Martyn's Law duty — the hall or the hirer? It turns on who controls the premises, and the answer surprises people.
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Martyn's Law for village & community halls
Most halls are either out of scope or sit at the lighter Standard Tier. How to tell which, what the busy day does to your numbers, and what a hall actually has to do.
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What counts as a qualifying event?
Events have their own rules under Martyn's Law. An event is only caught if it is open to the public, expects 800 or more at once, and controls entry behind a secure perimeter — so most smaller or private events are not.
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Does Martyn's Law apply to care homes?
Nothing in the guidance names care homes in or out — but health care is a qualifying use, so it comes down to numbers. Why most single homes fall under 200, which larger settings are caught, and why you'd want to be ready either way.
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Fairs, fêtes and community events: are you in scope?
A one-off fair is rarely a 'qualifying event' — that needs 800 people and controlled entry. The quieter risk is that one busy day pushes the hall or ground it's held at over 200 and into the Standard Tier.
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What do you have to buy for Martyn's Law?
At the Standard Tier, nothing. No equipment, no building works, no certified training, no consultant and no security guards — the duties are simple, low-cost procedures, and the cost is your time, not your money.
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Martyn's Law for churches and places of worship
If a church is caught at all, it's in the Standard Tier — and places of worship stay Standard even at 800+, so a packed carol service or Easter morning doesn't push you into the Enhanced Tier. The first question is whether you reach 200 people at all.
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Markets and street markets
Most markets are out of scope: an open-air street market has no building and no controlled entry, so it is neither a qualifying premises nor a qualifying event. The one that can be caught is a covered market hall busy enough to reach 200 — and then the duty is on the operator, not the stallholders.
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What a finished record looks like
At the Standard Tier you do not legally have to write anything down. But a short written record is how you show you have thought it through, and it is what a new manager, your insurer or the regulator will actually look at. Here is what a finished one contains, with a worked example.
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Martyn's Law for pubs and bars
A pub or bar is a food and drink use, so Martyn's Law applies the moment 200 people could be on the premises at once — staff, customers and the beer garden included. Most quiet locals stay under that; a busy town-centre bar on a match night can tip over it. Here is how to tell which you are, and what you would actually do.
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Match days and sports fixtures
Martyn's Law does not catch a sports ground just because sport is played there. For most open-air grounds the deciding question is whether you control who gets in: a free-to-enter recreation ground is out, a ground with turnstiles or tickets can be in, and the designated stadiums are in whatever happens. Here is how to tell which you are, and what a match day would ask of you.
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Drawing your response on the floor plan
The single most useful thing you can make for Martyn's Law is a plan of your building with your response drawn on it. It turns the four procedures from words into something a stranger could act on - and it is where the gaps show up. Here is what to draw, and why a plan beats a page of prose.
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Martyn's Law for mosques, temples and gurdwaras
If your mosque, temple or gurdwara fills up for Friday prayers, Eid, Diwali or Vaisakhi, the worry is that a big crowd tips you into the heavier end of Martyn's Law. It doesn't: places of worship stay in the Standard Tier even at 800 or more. Here is how the law works for a place of worship, and what you would really have to do.
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Martyn's Law for outdoor and street events
A festival on the common, a street party, a food market or a fireworks night has no building, so Martyn's Law judges it as an event, not premises. That turns on one thing: a controlled, bounded crowd of 800 or more. Here is when an outdoor event is caught, and what running the response on open ground actually looks like.
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What good evidence looks like
At the Standard Tier you do not have to keep a record at all — the duty is working procedures, not paperwork. But evidence is how you show the plan is real, known and up to date. Here is what good looks like, what to keep, and what changes at the Enhanced Tier where documenting it and giving it to the regulator is the law.
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Martyn's Law for hotels and B&Bs
A hotel is a use the law covers, so being in scope comes down to the numbers — and the number that catches hotels out is everyone on the site at once: residents, the restaurant and bar, a function in full swing, and staff. Here's how to count a mixed-use site, when a wedding or conference moves your tier, and who's responsible.
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Building your arrangements
Protective response planning
Evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication — what each is for, and how they fit together.
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Public protection measures
Monitoring, movement of people, physical protection and information security — the Enhanced Tier assessment.
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Staff preparedness and briefing
A plan nobody has been told about is not a plan. How to brief, record it, and keep it true through turnover.
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Keeping arrangements current
Tools and answers
Readiness Check
Two questions, your likely tier, and the Readiness Checklist.
Frequently asked questions
The questions people ask most, answered without hedging.
Help Centre
Using the platform: accounts, premises, assessments, uploads and plans.
How It Works
The full walkthrough, from a blank page to arrangements you can evidence.
Where the definitive answers live
Everything here is general guidance written to help you get oriented. For definitive information about whether your premises or event is within scope, and what is required of you, refer to the current statutory guidance issued under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025.