Does Martyn's Law apply to my event?

Martyn's Law — the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 — has generated more confusion among small event organisers than any recent legislation. The honest answer for most small community events is 'probably not directly, but read on' — and the reading is worth ten minutes.

The shape of the Act in five sentences

The Act creates duties for qualifying premises and qualifying events, regulated by the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Premises where 200–799 people may reasonably be expected at once fall into the standard tier: notify the regulator and have documented public protection procedures. Premises at 800+ fall into the enhanced tier, with fuller requirements to assess and reduce vulnerability. Qualifying events are a separate category aimed at large events — broadly, those where 800 or more people may be present and access is controlled (ticketing, passes or other permission). The Act received Royal Assent in April 2025 with a long implementation period — check gov.uk for what's currently in force.

So where does that leave a typical outdoor event?

Work through three questions:

• Is your event on qualifying premises? A hall, theatre, stadium or fenced venue with a 200+ capacity has its own duties, held by whoever controls the premises — and your event inherits their procedures. Ask the venue what they've documented; expect this question to flow both ways.
• Is your event itself a qualifying event? The events threshold is high — 800+ expected attendance with access control. A ticketed festival in a fenced field can qualify; scale and control of entry are the tests.
• Is it an open-access gathering? A fete on an open village green, a free street market, a park fun run — where anyone can wander in and there's no boundary or entry check — is generally outside the Act's direct duties. The publicly stated policy intent was to avoid burdening exactly these events.

'Outside the duties' is not 'forbidden from thinking'. Which brings us to the sensible-organiser position.

What sensible organisers are doing regardless

Counter-terrorism advice for crowded places existed long before this Act, and none of it is wasted on a non-qualifying event:

• Write down what you'd do if something violent happened at or near your event: how you'd get people out, where you'd move them, how you'd tell them. The standard tier's four procedures — evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, communication — are a good free framework; our standard tier checklist walks through them.
• Brief stewards on what to do about unattended items and how to report concerns quickly.
• Use ProtectUK's free guidance and training — it's official, practical and written for non-specialists.

Two pages in your event management plan covers it, and Safety Advisory Groups increasingly ask the question anyway — being ahead of it reads well.

What to watch as implementation lands

Details that matter to organisers — the exact commencement dates, how attendance is to be estimated, notification mechanics, and how mixed cases (a ticketed event inside an open park, say) are treated — are set by regulations and official guidance rather than the Act's text alone. Don't build your plans on a blog post from 2025, including ours: check gov.uk and ProtectUK for the current position, and ask your council's events team what they're expecting of organisers this season. When the duties are in force, EventSafetyPack's packs will include the standard-tier documentation as a matter of course.

Common questions

My fete expects about 300 people on an open field. Does Martyn's Law apply?

On the Act's structure, an open-access outdoor gathering without a controlled boundary is generally not a qualifying premises or event, even above 200 attendance. Documented procedures are still worth having, and your landowner or SAG may ask about them — but the statutory duties are aimed elsewhere. Check current official guidance to be sure of your specific case.

Our event is in a village hall with capacity 250 — whose job is compliance?

Standard-tier duties for qualifying premises sit with the person in control of the premises — typically the hall's management committee — not with each hirer. As an organiser you should ask for their procedures and make sure your event follows them. If you run the hall, our standard tier checklist is written for you.

Is there an official checklist or template?

ProtectUK (the government's protective security advice service) publishes official guidance and materials, and the SIA is the regulator. Start there for anything you'll rely on — and treat every third-party summary, including this page, as orientation rather than advice.