Guides to Martyn’s Law
Plain-English answers to the questions hall committees, churches, schools and clubs actually ask — each one sourced, and checked against the government’s own guidance.
Does this apply to us?
Whether Martyn's Law reaches your building at all, and which tier you are in.
Does Martyn's Law apply to village halls?
Village halls are in scope of Martyn's Law once 200 or more people are reasonably expected at once, including staff and volunteers.
Does Martyn's Law apply to churches and places of worship?
Places of worship stay standard tier under Martyn's Law at any size, provided worship is genuinely the building's principal use.
Does Martyn's Law apply to schools and nurseries?
Childcare, primary, secondary and further education stay standard tier at any size under Martyn's Law — higher education does not.
Does Martyn's Law apply to sports clubs, scout huts and social clubs?
Members-only access doesn't take a sports or social club outside Martyn's Law — the 200-person headcount test still applies.
How to count how many people your building holds
Martyn's Law counts who you actually expect at your busiest times, including staff — not your building's fire safety capacity.
What is the standard tier, and what's the difference from enhanced?
Standard tier covers 200 to 799 people under Martyn's Law; enhanced tier starts at 800, with exceptions for certain uses.
We only occasionally have big events — are we covered?
A one-off big event doesn't raise your Martyn's Law tier, but a recurring 800-plus event can, unless a carve-out applies.
We hire the hall out — who is responsible, us or the hirer?
Hiring your hall out rarely moves Martyn's Law responsibility away from whoever is in control of the premises day to day.
What do we actually have to do?
The four procedures the Act asks for, who is responsible, and what the regulator is told.
The four procedures Martyn's Law asks for, in plain English
Martyn's Law asks standard-tier premises for four kinds of procedure: evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication.
What "invacuation" means and how it differs from evacuation
Invacuation means moving people to a safer place inside the building — a different duty from evacuation and from lockdown.
Lockdown for a building you can't lock: what the guidance actually says
Lockdown doesn't need new locks or a securable whole building — a single room or a partial lockdown can meet the duty.
Who is the "responsible person" when a committee runs the hall?
Responsibility under Martyn's Law follows who controls the premises, not who holds the licence — and it isn't always a choice you get to make.
What you'll have to tell the SIA when you register
The notification fields are set by law in SI 2026/793 — names, numbers, licences and more. No date for this has been fixed yet.
Do we need to write anything down?
No document has to be prepared or submitted at standard tier, but a committee that keeps no record can't show an inspector what it decided.
Things you may have heard
What the Act does not ask for, and what actually happens if you do nothing.
Martyn's Law doesn't require security guards, bag searches or new equipment
Martyn's Law does not require a hall to hire guards, search bags or buy equipment — though a few small changes may be worth making.
What happens if we do nothing? Penalties for standard-tier premises, explained without scaremongering
What a standard-tier premises actually risks under Martyn's Law if it ignores the duties once they are in force — not before.
Will the SIA inspect our hall? What an inspection actually involves
What the SIA has said about inspecting standard-tier premises so far, and what is not yet settled about how it will work.
Timing, and what to do now
When the duties start, and what a committee can usefully do today.
When does Martyn's Law start?
No start date has been set. The duties cannot begin before 3 April 2027 at the earliest, and spring 2027 is the SIA's expectation, not a promise.
A Martyn's Law checklist for hall committees to start now
Four things a committee can usefully do before Martyn's Law starts: count peak numbers, decide who's in control, and think through the four procedures.
How to brief volunteers and key holders without a training course
There's no mandated training for Martyn's Law. A short briefing, covering each person's role and a simple Recognise, Assess, React structure, is enough.
Martyn's Law for parish and community councils with several buildings
Each building is usually assessed on its own. Control, not ownership or a licence, decides who the responsible person is.