How Premises Ready works

Martyn’s Law is the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. If your building can hold 200 or more people at once, it probably applies. For most community buildings the duties are modest. Premises Ready takes you through them one step at a time.

What the law asks, and how this helps

Check whether it applies.

A handful of questions about what the building is used for and how many people could be there at once, including staff. You get a plain answer — standard tier, enhanced tier, or out of scope — and the reasons behind it, not just a yes or no.

Write your procedures.

If the check says Martyn’s Law applies, we ask about your doors, your safe room and who holds the keys, then turn your answers into the four procedures the law asks for: evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, written in words your volunteers will understand rather than security jargon.

Keep a record.

Who was briefed, when procedures were approved, what changed since. Premises Ready keeps an evidence trail of all of it, so if the regulator or a new committee member ever asks what your hall actually does, you can show them in one click rather than hunting through old emails.

What is Martyn's Law?

Martyn’s Law is the short name for the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (c. 10), which received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. It asks the person responsible for a qualifying building or event to notify the regulator (the Security Industry Authority) and have straightforward public protection procedures in place, so far as reasonably practicable. For most community buildings that means two things: tell the SIA you exist, and have simple plans for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, with the people who need them knowing what to do. No security guards, equipment or building work are required.

Source: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, c. 10, ss 5 and 9; GOV.UK standard duty requirements factsheet.

Does it apply to my building?

It applies if your building is wholly or mainly used for one of the purposes listed in Schedule 1 of the Act — things like public events, places of worship, education, entertainment and sport — and it’s reasonable to expect 200 or more people there at once, including staff. Below 200, the Act doesn’t apply. From 200 you’re in the standard tier; from 800 most buildings move to the enhanced tier, though childcare, schools, further education and places of worship stay in the standard tier even above 800.

Source: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, s 2(2)(a)–(c), s 2(3)(a) and Schedule 1; GOV.UK scope (premises) factsheet.

What is the 200 threshold and how do I count?

The 200 is the greatest number of individuals it’s reasonable to expect at the premises at one time, from time to time — including staff, not just visitors. The Home Office has published separate guidance (Supplementary A) on how to work this number out. We haven’t summarised that method here — read Supplementary A directly for how to count.

Source: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, s 2(2)(c); Supplementary A — methods for assessing the number expected to be present (named here, not summarised).

What are the four procedures?

Section 5(3) of the Act lists four kinds of public protection procedure, for the standard tier so far as reasonably practicable: (a) evacuation — getting people out of the premises; (b) invacuation — moving people to a safer place inside; (c) lockdown — stopping people entering or leaving; and (d) communication — passing information to people on the premises. Invacuation and lockdown are two separate procedures, not one. No physical security measures are required — these are about what people do, not what you buy or build.

Source: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, s 5(3)(a)–(d).

Do I need to write anything down or send it anywhere?

You need to notify the SIA that your premises exists and who is responsible for it — a submission, through a portal the SIA is still building. The procedures themselves don’t have to be a particular document: the guidance’s own illustrations are as simple as a one-page summary or a staff poster. What matters is that the people with a role know the procedure and their part in it, which is why Premises Ready still writes it down — as evidence you can show, not because the Act demands a specific form of words.

Source: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, s 9; GOV.UK standard duty requirements factsheet; notification requirement guidance.

When does it start?

Not yet, and no date has been confirmed. Royal Assent was 3 April 2025, but the duties are not commenced. On 5 August 2026 the Home Office said the law “won’t come into effect until next year” — widely read as spring 2027 — but that is an expectation, not a confirmed date. Once a date is set, there is a three-month window for existing responsible persons to notify the SIA. Premises Ready will email you the moment the date is announced, if you’ve left your address with us.

Source: GOV.UK / Home Office statement, 5 August 2026; notification requirement guidance (the three-month window).

What happens if I do nothing?

We don’t know the detail well enough to tell you, and we’d rather say that than guess. The duties aren’t in force yet, so there’s nothing to do right now that you could fall short of. Once they are, the SIA’s role as regulator — including what it can do if someone doesn’t meet their duties — is set out in its own GOV.UK factsheet on the regulator, sanctions and enforcement — but we haven’t read or summarised that factsheet’s content here, and we won’t invent consequences we can’t point to a source for. Read that factsheet directly on GOV.UK if this matters to your planning.

Source: GOV.UK factsheets collection, “Regulator, sanctions and enforcement” (named here, not summarised).

Does this cost money?

The scope check on this site is free and doesn’t need an account. This is a question about Premises Ready rather than about Martyn’s Law, so there’s no legal source to cite here — we simply haven’t published pricing for anything beyond the free check yet. If you look after more than one building, see “For organisations”.

Is Premises Ready official?

No. Premises Ready is independent. It is not affiliated with the Home Office or the Security Industry Authority. This is a fact about us, not about the law, so there’s no legal source to cite — we’re telling you plainly rather than pointing at one that doesn’t exist.