Martyn’s Law for museums and visitor attractions.

Libraries, museums, galleries and visitor attractions are listed uses. Qualifying premises must include a building, be wholly or mainly used for a listed use, meet the attendance threshold and have no applicable exclusion.

A zoo or other mostly outdoor attraction can qualify because buildings and associated land form part of the premises. An open-air attraction with no building is not qualifying premises, although a separate event may qualify.

For a stately home, distinguish its public visitor use from any private areas when assessing the premises. Map galleries, visitor buildings and associated land, and check whether separately operated spaces need their own assessment.

Check your tier

A busy day does not automatically mean enhanced tier. The official counting guidance gives an example of a stately home with 850 daily visitors but no more than 300 present at once, placing it in standard tier.

Use ticket records, timed entry, attendance history, relevant occupancy restrictions or another justified method. Consider overlapping school visits, exhibition visitors and people attending talks. Include staff, contractors and volunteers in the qualifying use area.

Predictable seasonal peaks and bank holidays count. Record how your method addresses arrival and departure times, and add staff where visitor figures exclude them. Keep the evidence behind the greatest number you reasonably expect together.

How to count people

The responsible person is whoever controls the premises in connection with its qualifying use, usually an organisation rather than an individual volunteer. Legal responsibility cannot be delegated to a contractor.

Separate qualifying premises inside a larger site may have their own responsible people and co-ordination duties. If the same responsible person controls nested qualifying premises, they are treated as one.

Discuss shared entrances, cafés, hired rooms and visitor routes with other operators. Brief seasonal staff and volunteers as well as permanent teams. Consider how someone at a remote garden gate or gallery desk receives instructions.

Understand the responsible person

Once duties commence, standard premises will need SIA notification and appropriate procedures, so far as reasonably practicable, for evacuation, moving people to a safer place inside, preventing entry or exit, and communication when terrorism is suspected.

Consider visitors spread between buildings and outdoor areas, school groups and people who need assistance. Identify which doors, gates and spaces you control. Check how instructions reach visitors away from the main reception.

Standard tier requires no formal risk assessment or written plan, although documenting procedures is recommended. Staff with roles must understand them. Guidance recommends practising and reviewing procedures; these are good practice rather than separate statutory requirements.

The four public protection procedures

Qualifying premises expecting 800 or more people together from time to time are enhanced tier. They need additional assessed measures, a required document and, for an organisational responsible person, a designated senior individual.

A genuine one-off event at other premises may qualify separately if all event tests are met, including public access, 800 or more people together and checked admission. Private invitation-only events do not qualify. Enhanced premises do not separately notify individual events.

A suggested donation alone is not the admission check required for a qualifying event. Review evening openings, concerts and seasonal programmes on their actual arrangements rather than their event names.

Check event dutiesEnhanced tier duties

Core duties are not yet enforceable. Commencement is expected in spring 2027, with no fixed date set. Gather peak attendance evidence and walk the visitor routes with the people who operate them.

Buying software or specialist services is not required by law. Wardcote offers standard-tier help with procedures, briefings, records and notification preparation, plus hands-on enhanced tier support from an experienced team it works with for enhanced venues and events.

Wardcote’s standard-tier softwareEnhanced tier support