Martyn’s Law standard tier: what you need to do.

Start with the premises tests: the building and associated land, its main use, expected attendance and any exclusions. Include staff, contractors and volunteers in the relevant use area. A hall’s regular busy bookings or a pub’s predictable bank holiday peak may tell you more than its average attendance.

Places of worship, schools, childcare settings and further education premises receive special treatment. If they qualify at 200 or more, they remain standard tier even when attendance reaches 800. A school hiring out its facilities stays standard tier. Higher education does not have this exception.

Keep a short explanation of your counting method as useful preparation. You will need the greatest expected number and how you calculated it for notification.

Check your tierCounting people

Your procedures need to cover evacuating people, moving people to a safer place on the premises, preventing entry or exit, and providing information. Staff follow the appropriate procedures when terrorism is suspected. The aim includes reducing physical harm on the premises and in the immediate vicinity, within what you control.

Walk through real situations: a Sunday service with volunteer stewards, a hall booking with a visiting organiser, or a busy pub shift with people outside. Consider who makes decisions, which routes or rooms are available and how instructions reach people who cannot hear an announcement.

The arrangements must be appropriate so far as reasonably practicable. That means weighing their benefit against cost, time and difficulty. No one has to put themselves at risk.

The four public protection procedures

Communicate the procedures to employees, volunteers, contractors and hirers. Staff with a role must understand what to do and have the tools to act. A useful briefing explains who gives instructions, how the team communicates and what changes during different bookings or shifts.

There is no statutory training requirement and no requirement to buy third-party training. Free counter-terrorism awareness learning is good practice. Testing, practising and periodically reviewing your procedures are also recommended, rather than separate statutory duties.

For a volunteer-run hall, use a briefing that the next duty trustee can understand. For a venue with shifts, make sure the arrangements reach people who were absent from the first conversation.

A written plan is not required by law at standard tier. The guidance recommends documenting procedures to show how the duty is being met, including reasons for not adopting a procedure. Brief notes can also help new staff, volunteers and regular hirers understand the arrangements.

The Act does not require a formal risk assessment, CCTV, searches or physical protection measures at standard tier. There is no statutory requirement to make alterations or buy equipment, although small practical changes, such as how a door lock works, may be reasonably practicable.

Looking at your layout and staffing helps you choose suitable procedures. It does not turn that preparation into a legal requirement for a formal risk assessment.

Risk assessment requirements explained

For premises already in scope at commencement, notification will be due within three months. After that, becoming or ceasing to be responsible must be notified within 28 days, as must changes. The portal is not yet live, and commencement is expected in spring 2027.

Gather the responsible organisation’s details, premises use and address, relevant licences, expected attendance and calculation method. Notification, SIA inspections and SIA advice have no SIA fee.

Buying software or specialist services is optional. Wardcote’s standard-tier subscription is intended to help you write procedures, brief staff and volunteers, keep records and prepare notification. You can start free alongside the official guidance, which is also free.

SIA notification guideWardcote’s standard-tier software