Printable worksheet · Version October 2026
How many people? A counting worksheet.
Work through the Martyn’s Law count on paper with your committee or team. It follows the same steps as the online 200-person check. Free: enter your email to print.
Step 1
Decide what you are assessing
First identify the premises, or the part of them, used for a covered use or uses: those listed in Schedule 1 of the Act. They can be a whole building, part of a building or a group of buildings, together with other land used for the covered use or uses, such as a garden, terrace or outdoor seating area. Count only the people attending or working there in connection with the covered use or uses, outdoors as well as indoors, staff and volunteers included. Leave out unrelated areas and uses, such as the factory floor behind a shop.
Premises name and address
The building, part or group of buildings we are assessing, any outdoor areas or other land included (such as a garden, terrace or outdoor seating), and the covered use or uses
Areas or uses we left out, and why
Step 2
List your activities and occasions
Martyn’s Law counts the most people you reasonably expect at your premises at the same time. Include foreseeable busy occasions, such as a yearly concert or fair, even if they only happen now and then. A genuinely unforeseeable, one-off crowd does not set your number.
| Activity, event or booking | How often | When it is busiest |
|---|---|---|
Step 3
Count everyone there at the busiest moment
Pick your busiest occasions from step 2. For each, count everyone present together in the area you are assessing, indoors and outdoors, at the fullest moment, not the total through the door over a day. Include staff, volunteers, contractors and performers, not just the public.
| People present at the same time | Occasion A | Occasion B | Occasion C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Occasion (name it) | |||
| Visitors, audience or congregation | |||
| Performers, players or participants | |||
| Staff and volunteers | |||
| Anyone else in the area we are assessing: contractors, caterers, stallholders, a hirer’s helpers | |||
| Total at the same time |
Greatest total: the most people reasonably expected at the same time
Step 4
Expected numbers, not capacity
Your fire risk assessment’s maximum capacity is a safety ceiling, not the test. A hall licensed for 300 that never has more than 150 together is counted at 150. The Home Office lists occupancy and licence figures among its example counting methods, so you can use one if it reflects your expected use; check what it covers and add staff if it leaves them out.
| Figure | Number |
|---|---|
| Maximum capacity from our fire risk assessment or licence (for reference) | |
| Most people reasonably expected at the same time (step 3) |
Step 5
Write down how you worked it out
You may need to explain your reasoning, and the SIA notification asks for the number and the method used to calculate it.
Evidence we used
- Headcounts on the day
- Ticket sales, bookings or registrations (staff added if not included)
- Fixed seating or standing positions
- Past attendance records
- Occupancy or licence figure, checked against what we actually expect
- Another reasonable method (explain below)
How we worked it out, in our own words
Step 6
See where the number falls
- Fewer than 200: if this really is our busiest foreseeable occasion, the premises duties are unlikely to apply. Check again if busier occasions become likely.
- 200 to 799: premises with a covered use are in the standard tier.
- 800 or more: premises with a covered use are in the enhanced tier, with further duties on top of the standard tier.
Does this apply to your building?
- It is wholly or mainly used for worship, childcare, primary or secondary education, or further education. Qualifying premises like these stay in the standard tier, including at 800 or more.
- Numbers are one part of the test. What the premises are used for, and whether they include a building, matter too.
- If your hall is part of a larger site, or you run a group of buildings, the statutory guidance explains how to treat them.
- Separate rules apply to qualifying events where 800 or more people are expected at once.
Next: take the full tier check at wardcote.co.uk/check-your-tier.
Step 7
Sign and date it
Completed by (name and role)
Date
Review again on, or when our use or numbers change
This does not certify compliance
Filling in this sheet does not certify compliance with Martyn’s Law, and it is not an official form. Wardcote is not the regulator: the Security Industry Authority (SIA) is. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Counting worksheet. Wardcote, version October 2026. wardcote.co.uk/how-many-people/worksheet