Who needs to comply with Martyn's Law?
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Martyn's Law applies to any qualifying publicly accessible premises with a reasonably-expected capacity of 200 or more, split into two tiers: standard tier for 200 to 799 capacity, and enhanced tier for 800 capacity and above. The duty falls on the person or organisation in control of the premises. Capacity below 200 is out of scope.
Capacity is calculated using one of three approved methods set out in the Section 27 statutory guidance and Supplementary Document A: fire safety safe-occupancy figures from the building's fire risk assessment, historic attendance data from ticketing or footfall records, or any other justified method the responsible person can defend. The reasonable-expectation test must include staff and volunteers, not just members of the public. Sites that hover near a tier boundary need to count carefully, because moving from standard to enhanced changes the duty and the penalty regime substantially.
The legislation is sector-agnostic, but the Act and guidance explicitly call out the following premises types as in scope:
| Sector | Typical tier (varies by site) |
|---|---|
| Retail and shopping centres | Standard for shops, enhanced for malls |
| Hospitality (pubs, restaurants, hotels) | Standard for most, enhanced for large hotels |
| Education (schools, colleges, universities) | Standard for primary, enhanced for secondaries and HE campuses |
| Healthcare (hospitals, clinics) | Enhanced for acute hospitals, standard for clinics |
| Places of worship | Standard for most, enhanced for cathedrals and large mosques |
| Sports and entertainment venues | Almost always enhanced |
| Transport interchanges | Enhanced |
| Government and council premises | Standard or enhanced by capacity |
| Corporate offices (publicly accessible) | Standard for most HQs, enhanced for flagships |
Shared spaces and multi-tenant buildings carry a specific coordination duty under the Act. Where more than one responsible person controls parts of a single premises (typical of business campuses, shopping centres and co-working buildings), they must coordinate procedures so the public protection response is consistent. This is one of the most overlooked obligations on first reading. Strive AV's Martyn's Law assessment determines tier and produces the documentation an enhanced-tier responsible person needs.
Quick reference: publicly accessible premises with 200+ capacity (staff and volunteers included); standard tier 200-799, enhanced tier 800+; covers retail, hospitality, education, healthcare, places of worship, sports, transport, government, corporate; coordination duty applies to shared spaces.
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