Martyn’s Law: what venues and events need to know

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn's Law, will require many venues and events in the UK to be prepared for a terrorist attack. It is named after Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, and follows years of campaigning by his mother, Figen Murray.

If you run a pub, nightclub, hotel, events space, festival or any premises where large numbers of people gather, this is what you need to know.

Where the law stands in 2026

• The Act received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025.
• There is an implementation period of at least 24 months before the duties come into force. There is no legal requirement to comply until then.
• The Security Industry Authority (SIA) will be the regulator.
• The Home Office published the statutory guidance on 15 April 2026.
• The SIA's own duty to publish guidance on how it will regulate began on 15 June 2026, and it has consulted on that guidance.
• The date the duties for premises and events come into force has not yet been announced. The Government has said it will confirm the date in advance.

Who is covered

Martyn's Law applies to premises and events where it is reasonable to expect a certain number of people to be present at the same time, including staff. There are two tiers.

Standard tier: 200 to 799 people

Standard tier premises will need to:

• Notify the SIA that they are responsible for qualifying premises.
• Have appropriate public protection procedures in place, so far as reasonably practicable. These cover evacuation, invacuation (bringing people inside to safety), lockdown and communicating with people on the premises.

The standard tier is about procedures and training rather than expensive physical security.

Enhanced tier: 800 or more people

Enhanced tier premises, and qualifying events where 800 or more people are expected and entry is checked, must do everything in the standard tier and also:

• Put in place public protection measures, so far as reasonably practicable, to reduce vulnerability to an attack and the risk of harm. Monitoring the premises and its immediate surroundings is one example.
• Document their procedures and measures, including an assessment of how they reduce risk, and provide this to the SIA.
• Designate a senior individual responsible for compliance where the responsible person is an organisation.

What you can do now

Even before the duties come into force, there is a lot venues can do to prepare, and much of it improves everyday safety too:

• Work out your capacity and which tier you are likely to fall into.
• Read the Home Office statutory guidance and the free resources on ProtectUK.
• Plan how you would evacuate, invacuate or lock down, and how you would tell guests what to do.
• Train your staff. Free ACT Awareness e-learning is available through ProtectUK.
• Brief your security team so they know your procedures and their role in them.

How your security team fits in

A well-trained door or event security team is central to Martyn's Law. They control entry, see who is arriving, notice unusual behaviour and are often the first people guests look to in an emergency. At A.P.D Security Solutions we brief every officer on your site and your procedures, and record what happens on every shift, so you have evidence of what was done.

If you would like to talk about your venue or event, request a free security quote or read about our event security.

Sources

• ProtectUK: Martyn's Law
• Home Office: Martyn's Law factsheet
• Hansard: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 statutory guidance, 15 April 2026