# Martyn’s Law: standard tier or enhanced tier? How to tell

> Who is in scope of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, how the 200 and 800 thresholds work, the exceptions, the duties for each tier and the penalties.

Canonical: https://ohdock.com/en/martyns-law/guides/standard-vs-enhanced-tier/  
Updated: 2026-10-23

Martyn’s Law — the **Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025** — is named after Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017. It requires those responsible for certain premises and events in the UK to prepare for a terrorist attack. The **Security Industry Authority (SIA)** regulates it.

## Step 1: is the use of the premises covered?

The Act applies to premises used for activities listed in Schedule 1, including:

- shops and shopping centres;
- food and drink: pubs, bars, restaurants, cafés;
- entertainment and leisure: theatres, cinemas, music venues, nightclubs;
- sports grounds and leisure centres;
- museums, galleries and visitor attractions;
- conference and exhibition venues;
- community halls and similar venues;
- places of worship;
- healthcare premises;
- education and childcare premises.

Private homes and premises not open to the public are not covered. Some premises are excluded or treated differently; check the Act if you are unsure.

## Step 2: how many people may be present?

Count the **maximum number of individuals it is reasonable to expect may be present at the same time**, including staff and volunteers.

| People at the same time | Tier |
| --- | --- |
| Under 200 | Not in scope |
| 200 to 799 | **Standard tier** |
| 800 or more | **Enhanced tier** |

**Exception:** places of worship, and education and childcare premises, stay in the **standard tier** even with 800 or more people.

**Qualifying events** — one-off events with 800 or more people at the same time, open to the public with entry checks such as tickets or bag searches — are under the **enhanced tier**.

## Step 3: what each tier has to do

**Standard tier**

- Notify the SIA once the duties start (reported: within three months).
- Have **public protection procedures**, so far as reasonably practicable: evacuation, invacuation (moving people inside to safety), lockdown, and communicating with people on the premises.
- There is no requirement to buy equipment or make physical changes.

**Enhanced tier** — everything above, plus:

- **Public protection measures** for monitoring, controlling movement, the physical safety of the premises, and the security of information;
- a **documented security plan** with an assessment, provided to the SIA;
- a **designated senior individual** where the responsible person is an organisation.

## Penalties

For the standard tier, the SIA can issue penalties of up to **£10,000**. Penalties for the enhanced tier are much higher (reported up to £18 million or 5% of worldwide revenue, whichever is greater).

## What to do now

1. [Check your tier](/en/martyns-law/) in a minute.
2. Standard tier: [build your procedures](/en/martyns-law/procedures-builder/) and brief your staff.
3. Enhanced tier: start your assessment early and consider [specialist help](/en/martyns-law/find-security-help/).

## Sources

- [Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/10/contents)
- [ProtectUK (Home Office / NaCTSO)](https://www.protectuk.police.uk/)
- [Security Industry Authority (SIA)](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/security-industry-authority)