Martyn’s Law standard tier: what a village hall, church or club actually has to do

The short version

• Standard tier means a building used wholly or mainly for a listed purpose (village halls, community centres, venues for hire and places of worship are all listed) where 200 to 799 people can reasonably be expected at once, from time to time.
• The duties are to have appropriate public protection procedures in place so far as is reasonably practicable, to co-ordinate with others who share responsibility, and to notify the SIA.
• What standard tier does not need: security equipment, building works, paid training, a compliance document or a designated senior individual. Those are enhanced tier duties.

Where the law stands

Royal Assent was on 3 April 2025. Since then:

• April to June 2026: the sections on Home Office and SIA guidance were commenced, and the Home Office published its statutory guidance (corrected on 6 August 2026).
• July 2026: the Notification Requirements Regulations 2026 were made. They take effect only when the notification duty starts.
• 15 October 2026: the Principal Use of Premises Regulations 2026 came into force, for buildings with several listed uses.
• The main duties: start on a day the Secretary of State will set by regulations. That has not happened yet.

Are you in scope?

Premises are standard tier if all four of these apply.

1. It is a building, or a building and its land. Part of a building counts. Restricting entry to members or ticket holders does not stop it counting.
2. It is wholly or mainly used for a listed purpose. The Home Office guidance gives village halls, community centres and venues for hire, places of worship, bars and cafés, theatres, gyms and leisure centres. A members’ club is covered if its main use is one of these. Look at how the premises are used most of the time.
3. It is reasonable to expect 200 or more people at once, from time to time.
4. It is not excluded. Examples are open-air parks and recreation grounds without entry controls, and some transport premises.

Premises with 800 or more are enhanced tier, with extra duties. The exceptions are places of worship, childcare and primary, secondary and further education, which stay standard tier whatever the number.

Counting capacity

Count everyone present at the same time in the part used for the listed purpose, including staff and volunteers. It is the peak, not the average. “From time to time” means occasionally but predictably: planned events that bring the number over 200 count, while a one-off you could not have foreseen does not.

Home Office supplementary guidance lists methods you can use:

• the safe occupancy figure for fire safety
• records of actual peak attendance
• fixed seats or standing positions
• the cap on tickets or registrations, or the capacity on an alcohol or entertainment licence

If your method leaves out staff, add them. Whatever you choose, write it down: the SIA can ask how you reached the figure.

The guidance gives this example. A hall with a safe occupancy of 250 but records showing never more than 150 people at once in five years can conclude it is out of scope. If it starts hosting repeat concerts of 220 people plus staff, it is in the standard tier. Review the figure as activities change.

Who is the responsible person?

The person with control of the premises for their main listed use. For a village hall that is typically the management committee, as in the Home Office’s own examples. You cannot hand the legal responsibility to a contractor, though you can hand over tasks.

When you hire the hall out, you stay responsible. The guidance expects you to explain the requirements to hirers, perhaps in the hire agreement, and to be able to show the SIA you did. The exception is a ticketed event of 800 or more whose organiser takes control of the building: they become responsible for that event.

What the standard tier asks of you

Section 5 of the Act requires appropriate public protection procedures, so far as is reasonably practicable. They are for staff and volunteers to follow if they suspect an attack is happening or about to happen on the premises or just outside.

“Reasonably practicable” means weighing the benefit against the cost, time and difficulty, and your resources count, including your budget and how many volunteers you have. If you decide a procedure is not practicable, the guidance suggests recording why. There is no requirement to alter the building, buy equipment or pay for training.

The procedures must work in practice. People with a role must know it, and a written procedure nobody can carry out does not count. The guidance says even simple procedures are best written down, and suggests practising and reviewing them. If a building is unstaffed, posters or an induction for hirers can help. Think about the pavement or car park outside too.

If more than one body is responsible, or your hall is part of a larger qualifying site, you must also co-ordinate with them so far as is reasonably practicable (section 8).

Telling the SIA

You must notify the SIA when you become or stop being responsible for qualifying premises, and when the information you gave changes. Notifications go through an SIA online portal, which is not available yet.

• Timing: if you are responsible when the duty starts, you have three months from that day. Later changes must be notified within 28 days.
• What you will give: your contact details, company or charity number, the address, the greatest number of people you expect at once and how you calculated it, others with control of the building, websites and social accounts that advertise it, and any alcohol or entertainment licences.
• Accuracy: knowingly or recklessly giving false or misleading information is an offence (section 25).

Someone else can submit for you, but the responsibility stays with you.

Enforcement and penalties

The SIA is the regulator. Inspectors can usually inspect on 72 hours’ written notice, see documents and ask for explanations. The SIA can issue a compliance notice and then a financial penalty. For standard tier premises the maximum penalty is £10,000 (£5,000 for failing to attend an interview), plus daily penalties of up to £500 in some cases. Ignoring a compliance notice at standard tier is not a criminal offence. The maximums are much higher for enhanced tier premises and events.

A practical plan for a committee

1. Work out your peak number, including volunteers, and record the method and date.
2. Confirm who the responsible person is and name a lead.
3. Draft the four procedures for your building: exits, rooms that lock, how you would alert people, and who calls 999.
4. Brief volunteers and hirers and keep a record of who was told.
5. Practise once, note what you would change and set a review date.
6. Watch GOV.UK and the SIA for the start date and portal.

Sources

Last checked 22 October 2026.

• Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, sections 2, 5, 8 and 9 and Schedule 1, legislation.gov.uk
• Statutory guidance (section 27), Home Office
• Supplementary document A: methods for assessing the reasonable expectation of individuals present, Home Office
• Notification requirement guidance, Home Office
• Notification Requirements Regulations 2026, Principal Use of Premises Regulations 2026, Commencement No. 1 and No. 2 Regulations 2026, legislation.gov.uk

This guide is general information written from the official sources listed above and checked on 22 October 2026. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and Plainfiles is not endorsed by any government body. Rules change, so check the linked official pages for your own situation. Written and designed by Plainfiles with the help of AI tools, then checked against the official legislation and guidance listed in the sources.