Does Martyn's Law apply to sports clubs, scout huts and social clubs?
In short
Being a members' club, charging a membership fee or running on volunteers doesn't put you outside Martyn's Law. What decides it is the same test as everywhere else: whether 200 or more people are reasonably expected on the premises at once, including staff and volunteers. A sports club, scout hut or social club that reaches that number is in scope exactly like a commercial venue would be.
Key points
Paid, ticketed or members-only access does not take premises outside the Act — Schedule 1, paragraph 18 says so expressly.
Clubs, scout huts and social venues usually fall under one or more of the Act's broad "entertainment, leisure or recreation" or "service to the public" categories, even if none of the specific headings sounds like you.
A sports ground has a specific legal meaning tied to separate safety-of-sports-grounds law — a recreation ground behind a clubhouse isn't automatically one.
Open-air sports and recreation grounds can be excluded under Schedule 2 while nothing checks tickets, membership or payment at the gate — and a check put on for one particular event, or one particular facility, is disregarded.
"We're not sure what category we fall under" is a reason to say so, not a reason to assume you're outside the Act.
Members-only is not outside the Act
It's a common assumption that a club limited to paying or joining members sits outside legislation aimed at "public" premises. Martyn's Law rules that out directly: Schedule 1, paragraph 18 says that limiting access to those who have paid, hold a ticket, or are "members or guests of a club, association or similar body" does not stop premises being treated as used by visiting members of the public. A working men's club, a bowls club or a scout group that only admits members and their guests is assessed on exactly the same basis as a venue anyone can walk into.
Where clubs fit in Schedule 1
Few clubs will see their own name on Schedule 1's list of uses, and that's deliberate — the Schedule has two catch-all categories precisely so that a list of headings can't be used to argue a use falls outside it. One covers "entertainment, leisure or recreation activities of any description" other than those already named, and another reaches any business or service provided principally to visiting members of the public, including a bar or a shop counter. A social club with a bar and a snooker room, for instance, is very likely caught by a combination of those two categories, whatever its own description of itself. If none of the listed options fits, describe your club in your own words rather than ticking "none of these" — an unrecognised use is treated as needing a closer look, never as automatically out of scope.
Sports grounds are a legal term, not a general description
Schedule 1's "sports ground" heading borrows its meaning from separate safety-of-sports-grounds legislation, and most club pitches, greens and courts behind a village clubhouse don't meet that specific definition. Separately, Schedule 2 excludes open-air recreation grounds — parks, playing fields and similar — that have no measures at all to check payment, tickets or membership at the gate. A check that limits public access generally — a gated members' ground, a turnstile — takes the exclusion away. But paragraph 3(4) says to disregard measures relating only to "particular events" or "particular facilities" where they do not limit public access generally, so a ticketed annual sports day does not cost a recreation ground its exclusion for the rest of the year.
Needs a closer look
Whether a particular ground counts as a "sports ground" in the Act's specific legal sense, and exactly what a mixed-use clubhouse's principal use is where it combines a bar, function room and sports facilities, aren't always obvious from the outside. Where your club doesn't map cleanly onto the categories here, this needs a closer look rather than a guess — use the scope checker.
Common questions
- We're a small members-only social club — are we definitely outside the Act?
No, and you shouldn't assume that. Being members-only doesn't take you outside Schedule 1, and most clubs with a bar, function room or entertainment fall under one of its broad categories once they reach 200 people.
- Our scout hut only gets busy for the summer fete — does that count?
If 200 or more is reasonably expected there occasionally, and it's the kind of thing you'd expect to happen again, yes — even if your ordinary weekly meetings are much smaller.
- Our playing field has no fence or gate at all — are we excluded?
Possibly, under the open-air recreation exclusion in Schedule 2, while nothing limits public access generally. Ticketing one event a year does not change that — paragraph 3(4) says to disregard a measure that relates only to a particular event or facility. A permanent gate or a members-only ground is different. If you're not sure, check your scope.
Check your building, free
Answer a few questions about who uses your building and how many people could be there at once. We’ll tell you plainly whether Martyn’s Law applies, and why.
Sources
Last reviewed 2 November 2026, against the statutory guidance of 15 April 2026 (corrected 6 August 2026).