Free venue preparation pack · Version October 2026
Free Martyn’s Law templates.
Five printable templates and a one-page checklist to help the people who run a hall, church, venue or event prepare for Martyn’s Law. They hold prompts and space to write, not ready-made answers. Free to copy and share. Enter your email to print.
Before you start
- At standard tier, the Act does not require a written plan or a formal risk assessment. The Home Office guidance recommends documenting your procedures, including your reasons for not adopting one. These templates are one way to do that.
- Enhanced tier premises and qualifying events need a compliance document for the SIA. These templates do not replace it.
- Fire safety duties are separate and still apply. Protection evacuation arrangements should differ from fire plans.
- The core duties are not yet in force. Commencement is expected in spring 2027; no exact date has been set. The law does not require you to buy software or specialist services.
Template 01Version October 2026
Attendance evidence log
Purpose
Martyn’s Law counts the greatest number of people reasonably expected at your premises at the same time from time to time. Use this log to record that number, how you worked it out and the evidence behind it.
When the duties start, the SIA notification asks for the greatest expected number and the method used to calculate it.
How to use it
- 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. Leave out unrelated areas and uses, such as the factory floor behind a shop.
- List the activities and occasions that use the premises, including foreseeable busy ones that only happen now and then, such as a yearly concert or fair.
- For each, write down the most people present together in the area you are assessing at the busiest moment: everyone attending or working there in connection with the covered use or uses. Include visitors, staff, volunteers, contractors and performers.
- Note your evidence: headcounts, ticket sales or bookings, fixed seating, past attendance or another reasonable method. Check what each figure covers, so you neither leave out nor double count your team.
- Count people present at the same time, not the total through the door over a day. Your fire safety maximum capacity is a ceiling, not the test.
- A genuinely unforeseeable, one-off crowd does not set your number. Review the log when your use or expected numbers change: the tier can change too.
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), the covered use or uses, and any areas or uses we left out
Responsible person (usually the organisation that controls the premises)
| Date or dates | Activity, event or booking | Visitors or audience | Staff and volunteers | Others (performers, contractors, hirer’s helpers) | Total at the same time | How estimated (evidence) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greatest number reasonably expected at the same time
How we worked it out, in our own words
Occasions we treated as unforeseeable one-offs, and why
Completed by, and date
Next review date
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.
Attendance evidence log. Wardcote free venue preparation pack, version October 2026. wardcote.co.uk/martyns-law/templates
Template 02Version October 2026
Public protection procedures planner
Purpose
Martyn’s Law identifies four public protection procedures: evacuation, moving people to a safer place on the premises (invacuation), preventing people entering or leaving (lockdown), and providing information (communication). Staff follow them if terrorism is suspected.
This planner holds questions and blank space, not answers. What is appropriate depends on your building, how it is used and who is available.
How to use it
- Work through it with the people who know the building: trustees, managers, stewards, volunteers and regular hirers. Walk the building rather than filling it in at a desk.
- Think about different activities and times, including a busy booking and a day when the usual manager is absent.
- Procedures 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.
- At standard tier the Act does not require a written plan. The guidance recommends documenting procedures, including your reasons for not adopting one.
Premises, and the activities this planner covers
1. Evacuation: helping people leave
Moving people out of the premises. The guidance says protection evacuation arrangements should differ from fire plans.
Which exit routes could be used, and what are the alternatives if a usual route cannot be used?
How would a decision to leave reach staff, volunteers and visitors?
Where could people go once outside, without relying on a single assembly point?
How does this differ from our fire evacuation plan?
What we decided, and why (including reasons if we decided not to adopt it)
2. Invacuation: moving people to a safer place inside
Moving people to a safer place on the premises, where leaving would not be the right option.
Which places on the premises could be safer, and how would people reach them?
Does this work across our different activities and bookings?
A room used for storage during one booking may be used differently during another.
What we decided, and why (including reasons if we decided not to adopt it)
3. Lockdown: preventing entry or exit
Preventing people from entering or leaving the premises.
Which doors, shutters or other controls do we already have, and who can operate them?
Which entrances and exits are used during different activities?
How is emergency escape kept available?
What we decided, and why (including reasons if we decided not to adopt it)
4. Communication: making instructions clear
Providing information to people on the premises.
Who gives instructions, and how do staff and volunteers receive them?
How do instructions reach visitors, contractors and hirers, including people who cannot hear an announcement?
What happens if the usual method fails or the usual manager is absent?
What we decided, and why (including reasons if we decided not to adopt it)
Agreed by, and date
Next review date
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.
Public protection procedures planner. Wardcote free venue preparation pack, version October 2026. wardcote.co.uk/martyns-law/templates
Template 03Version October 2026
Staff and volunteer briefing record
Purpose
People who would carry out your procedures need to understand their role and have the means to act. The procedures should also be communicated to employees, volunteers, contractors and hirers.
Keeping a brief record of who was briefed, what was covered and any questions is useful good practice. There is no statutory training requirement, and paid training is not required.
How to use it
- Brief people on your own premises and your own procedures. Free awareness learning, such as ACT Awareness and SCaN, can support this but cannot tell a volunteer which door controls your hall.
- Include volunteers, shift staff, contractors and regular hirers, and the people who lead activities when the usual team is absent.
- Brief again when people, roles, the layout or the procedures change.
Date, time and place of briefing
Briefing given by
Which version or date of our procedures was used
What we covered
- Who can start a procedure, and who takes over if they are absent
- Exit routes and the alternatives
- Safer places inside, and how to direct people there
- Doors and other controls, who may use them and how emergency escape is kept available
- How instructions are given and received
- How to report a concern
- Anything different for this booking, shift or event
| Name | Role (staff, volunteer, contractor, hirer) | Questions raised or follow-up needed | Initials |
|---|---|---|---|
Follow-up actions, owner and date
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.
Staff and volunteer briefing record. Wardcote free venue preparation pack, version October 2026. wardcote.co.uk/martyns-law/templates
Template 04Version October 2026
Exercise and practice record
Purpose
Testing, practising and periodically reviewing your procedures are recommended, rather than separate statutory duties. The Act does not set a drill schedule at standard tier.
Use this sheet to record a discussion, walk-through or practice, the problems it showed up and who will fix them.
How to use it
- Start with a discussion and a walk through the routes. Ask what changes during a busy booking or when the usual manager is absent.
- Look for practical problems, such as a door that cannot be reached or an instruction that cannot be heard.
- Keep fire drills separate: follow the fire training and drill rules that apply to your premises.
- Give every problem an owner and a date, and update your procedures and briefings afterwards.
Date, time and place
Led by
Type of practice
- Discussion around a table
- Walk-through of routes and spaces
- Practice with staff and volunteers
Procedures covered
- Evacuation
- Invacuation
- Lockdown
- Communication
The situation we talked through
Who took part
What worked
Problems found
| Action | Owner | Due by | Done (date) |
|---|---|---|---|
Next practice or review date
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.
Exercise and practice record. Wardcote free venue preparation pack, version October 2026. wardcote.co.uk/martyns-law/templates
Template 05Version October 2026
Responsibilities sheet
Purpose
Martyn’s Law places its duties on the responsible person. This sheet records who you understand that to be, and how the practical work is shared out, so everyone can see the difference between legal responsibility and day-to-day tasks.
How to use it
- Read the note on the responsible person first, and check the official guidance if your arrangements are not straightforward.
- Fill in the tasks with the people who will actually do them, with a deputy where you can.
- Review the sheet when people, hire arrangements or control of the premises change.
The responsible person: what the Act says
- The responsible person is whoever controls the premises in connection with its qualifying use. Where there are several uses, it is whoever controls the premises for the principal use.
- It is usually an organisation rather than an individual manager or volunteer. For some uses the Act names it directly: for a pupil referral unit, the local authority that maintains it; for other schools, the governing body, or the proprietor where there is no governing body.
- Responsibility is defined by law and cannot be delegated. Tasks can be shared out, and an authorised person can submit the SIA notification, but neither transfers the legal responsibility.
- Ordinary hiring of a hall or venue does not transfer the operator’s responsibility. Hire terms can specify duties for hirers. A qualifying event is different and can create separate responsibility for whoever controls the premises for that event.
- There can be more than one responsible person; if so, they must co-ordinate with each other so far as reasonably practicable. For enhanced premises and qualifying events, a responsible person that is not an individual must also designate a senior individual.
Filling in this sheet does not make anyone the responsible person, and it does not transfer legal responsibility. It records your understanding of who that is and how tasks are shared.
Premises name and address
Responsible person: the organisation’s full legal name
Company or charity number, if any
Why we think this is the responsible person (who controls the premises for its main use)
Anyone else with control of part of the premises or co-ordination duties
For example a landlord, a larger site you sit within, or another occupier.
| Task | Who does it (name and role) | Deputy | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gathering attendance evidence | |||
| Keeping the procedures up to date | |||
| Briefing staff and volunteers | |||
| Briefing hirers and checking hire terms | |||
| Arranging practice and review | |||
| Preparing the SIA notification | |||
| Submitting the SIA notification (authorised submitter) | |||
| Updating notified information: premises within 28 days; qualifying events within 14 days, once commenced | |||
| Enhanced premises or qualifying events: designated senior individual, where the responsible person is not an individual |
Agreed on behalf of the responsible person by (name and position)
Date, and next review date
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.
Responsibilities sheet. Wardcote free venue preparation pack, version October 2026. wardcote.co.uk/martyns-law/templates
ChecklistVersion October 2026
Standard-tier checklist
Purpose
At standard tier, preparing for Martyn’s Law means: check your tier, identify the responsible person, prepare the four public protection procedures, make sure people understand their roles and get ready to notify the SIA. This checklist puts those steps on one page.
The legal duties are SIA notification and appropriate public protection procedures, so far as reasonably practicable, and co-ordination where more than one responsible person is involved. The last section is recommended good practice, not extra legal duties.
How to use it
- Tick each item when it is done. Give any open action an owner and a date.
- A ticked box does not prove compliance. What matters is that your arrangements are appropriate and work in practice.
- Enhanced tier premises and qualifying events have further duties that this checklist does not cover.
- The core duties are not yet in force: commencement is expected in spring 2027, and no exact date has been set.
Premises name and address
1. Scope and tier
- We have identified the premises, including any land used with them.
- We have checked the qualifying use and that no exclusion applies.
- We know the greatest number reasonably expected at the same time from time to time, including staff, volunteers and contractors.
- That number is 200–799, or 800 or more at qualifying worship, childcare, school or further education premises, which stay standard tier.
2. Responsibility
- We know who the responsible person is: whoever controls the premises in connection with its qualifying use, usually an organisation. We have checked any special rule, such as a school’s governing body, or proprietor where there is none.
- If there is more than one responsible person, including at shared or nested premises, we have agreed how we co-ordinate, so far as reasonably practicable (a legal duty where it applies).
- We have agreed who does which task, and who is authorised to submit the SIA notification.
- Hirers know the procedures that apply to them. Ordinary hire does not transfer the operator’s responsibility.
3. The four procedures (legal duty)
- Evacuation: how people could leave, without simply copying the fire plan.
- Invacuation: how people could move to a safer place on the premises.
- Lockdown: how entry or exit could be prevented, and who operates the controls.
- Communication: how instructions reach staff, volunteers, visitors, contractors and hirers.
- We know who starts each procedure and who covers when they are absent.
4. People
- The procedures have been communicated to employees, volunteers, contractors and hirers.
- People with a role understand it and have the means to act.
5. SIA notification (legal duty, once commenced)
- We have gathered the responsible person’s details, the premises address and use, relevant licences, the greatest expected number and how we calculated it.
- Deadlines noted: if responsible at commencement, notify within three months. If becoming or ceasing to be responsible later, notify by the later of the end of that period or 28 days after the change. Correct inaccurate information within 28 days.
6. Recommended good practice
Recommended by the guidance, rather than separate legal duties.
- Procedures recorded in a short, usable form, including reasons for not adopting a procedure.
- Free awareness learning considered. There is no statutory training requirement.
- Procedures talked through or practised, with problems given an owner and a date.
- Arrangements reviewed when attendance, layout, use or people change.
Open actions, owner and date
Checked by, date and next review date
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.
Standard-tier checklist. Wardcote free venue preparation pack, version October 2026. wardcote.co.uk/martyns-law/templates