Home Office puts out early guidance on Martyn's Law

The Home Office has released guidance on Martyn's Law, the everyday name for the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. The Act received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025, but its duties are not in force yet. The guidance is background material to help premises understand what the law will ask of them once it begins.

If your premises may see 200 or more people at the same time, the Act is likely to apply to you. Standard tier covers 200 to 799 people; enhanced tier covers 800 or more. The count includes staff. Guidance like this is meant to help you plan calmly in advance, not to signal that anything is enforceable today.

Commencement of the duties is expected in spring 2027, and the exact date is still to be confirmed. The Security Industry Authority will be the regulator, but its notification process is not yet live. So there is time to prepare rather than rush.

Have a look at the official guidance when you get the chance and note which tier your venue is likely to fall into. Start thinking about who reasonably attends your busiest events. There is nothing to submit yet, so the useful step now is simply to familiarise yourself and keep an eye out for further detail.