Martyn's Law: what it means for your premises
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 puts a legal duty on venues, shops, schools and public buildings to prepare for a terrorist attack. Here is who it covers, what you have to do, and where physical protection such as bollards fits in.
- Expected in force spring 2027
- Applies across the whole UK
- Plain English, no scare stories
- 200+people on site at once brings premises into scope
- 800+moves premises and events into the enhanced tier
- Spring 2027when the duties are expected to start
- £18mor 5% of worldwide revenue: the top fine in the enhanced tier
What is Martyn's Law?
Martyn's Law is the common name for the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. It is named after Martyn Hett, one of the 22 people killed in the Manchester Arena attack in 2017. His mother, Figen Murray, campaigned for years to get it onto the statute book, and it received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025.
The idea is simple. Fire safety and health and safety have had legal duties behind them for decades. Preparing for a terrorist attack has not. The Act closes that gap by making the people who run public premises think through what they would do if the worst happened and, at larger sites, take reasonable steps to make an attack harder to carry out.
It is not in force yet. The government allowed at least two years to get ready, and the regulator, the Security Industry Authority (SIA), expects the duties to start in spring 2027. The Home Office published its statutory guidance in April 2026, so the detail is now there to plan against.
Does it apply to you?
The Act uses four tests. Meet all of them and you have duties under it. How much you have to do then depends on how many people you can reasonably expect on site at the same time.
Your premises are in scope if all four are true
- There is at least one building on the site
- It is used mainly for a purpose listed in the Act, such as a shop, restaurant, hotel, school, hospital, sports ground, visitor attraction or place of worship
- It is reasonable to expect 200 or more people there at the same time, staff included, at least from time to time
- It is not one of the premises the Act specifically excludes
How to count
The number is about who you can reasonably expect, not the size of the building. Your fire safety occupancy figure and your own attendance records are both accepted ways of working it out.
Simple, low cost and mostly a matter of time.
- Notify the SIA that you are responsible for the premises
- Have public protection procedures in place, so far as reasonably practicable
- Cover four things: evacuation, invacuation (moving people to a safe place inside), lockdown, and communicating with people on site
- Make sure the people who work there know what to do
Larger premises, plus public events of 800 or more with ticket or entry checks.
- Everything in the standard tier
- Public protection measures, so far as reasonably practicable, to reduce the vulnerability of the site and the risk of harm
- Those measures cover monitoring, the movement of people, the physical safety and security of the premises, and the security of information
- Document your procedures and measures and send that document to the SIA
- Name a senior individual responsible for compliance, where the responsible person is an organisation
What to do before spring 2027
There is no legal duty today, but none of this takes long and all of it is easier done early.
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Work out your number
Use your fire safety occupancy figure or past attendance records to see whether you can reasonably expect 200 or 800 people at once.
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Name the responsible person
It is whoever controls the premises for its main use. Tasks can be handed to someone else. The legal duty cannot.
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Write your procedures
Evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication. The Home Office guidance is free and you do not need a consultant to follow it.
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Walk the site
A legal duty in the enhanced tier, and worth doing anywhere. Where could a vehicle reach an entrance, a queue or a crowd?
How it applies by sector
Your tier depends on your own numbers, so treat these as a starting point and not a ruling.
Standard tier at any sizeSchools and colleges
Nurseries, primary and secondary schools and further education colleges stay in the standard tier even above 800 people. The duty is about procedures, but plenty of schools are looking at gates and drop-off areas while they are at it. Universities go by their numbers like everyone else.
Removable bollards
Usually standard tierPubs, restaurants and hotels
Most hospitality premises that reach 200 people will be standard tier. Large hotels, nightclubs and venue bars can tip over 800. Outdoor seating and pavement queues are the obvious places to think about vehicles.
Stainless steel bollards
Usually enhanced tierVenues, arenas and stadiums
Theatres, arenas, sports grounds and conference centres are where the law started. Most will pass 800 and need documented measures, including how crowds arriving and leaving are protected outside the doors.
Crash tested bollards
Standard or enhancedHospitals and healthcare
Hospitals and larger health centres are covered, and a main hospital site will usually be enhanced tier. Any vehicle protection has to keep ambulance routes open, which is where removable and gas assisted bollards earn their place.
BFT high security bollards
Standard or enhancedShops and shopping centres
Shops are a listed use. A large supermarket or retail park unit can pass 200 at busy times, and shopping centres often pass 800. Shopfronts facing a car park are where ram raid protection and vehicle protection overlap.
Anti-ram security bollards
Standard tier at any sizePlaces of worship
Churches, mosques, temples, synagogues and gurdwaras that expect 200 or more people are treated as standard tier, even where they hold more than 800. Procedures are the legal duty. Car parks and forecourts are worth a look on busy days.
Fold down bollards
Standard or enhancedLeisure and visitor attractions
Leisure centres, museums, galleries, cinemas and visitor attractions are all listed. Numbers swing with the season, so the question is what you can reasonably expect on your busiest days, not an average Tuesday.
Pedestrian barriers
Premises and eventsCouncils and public buildings
Town halls, libraries and civic buildings are listed uses. An open street or square is not premises under the Act, but a public event of 800 or more with tickets or entry checks is covered wherever it is held.
All bollards
Where bollards and vehicle protection fit in
Vehicles driven into crowds have been used in attacks in the UK and across Europe, which is why hostile vehicle mitigation comes up in almost every conversation about Martyn's Law. It means using bollards, barriers and street furniture to keep a vehicle away from the places people gather: entrances, queues, outdoor seating and event space.
For enhanced tier premises, the physical security of the site is one of the areas the law asks you to look at. For everyone else it is a sensible thing to consider, not a legal requirement.
Not every bollard will stop a vehicle. A standard steel or decorative bollard marks a boundary and deters parking. To stop a moving vehicle, a bollard has to be impact tested to a recognised standard such as PAS 68, IWA 14 or ASTM F3016, and fitted on the foundation it was tested with.
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Impact testedCrash tested bollards
Tested against a moving vehicle to PAS 68, IWA 14 or ASTM F3016. This is the range to look at when the job is stopping a vehicle, not just marking a line.
See the range -
Ram raid and car parkAnti-ram security bollards
Steel cored and telescopic posts for shopfronts, retail parks and car parks, built to take a hit and resist ram raids.
See the range -
Managed accessBFT high security bollards
Fixed and gas assisted bollards for entrances that have to open for deliveries and emergency vehicles, then close again.
See the range -
Managed accessRemovable bollards
Lift out when access is needed, lock back in when it is not. Useful for school gates, service yards and event space.
See the range -
Crowds and queuesPedestrian barriers
Guide queues and keep people where you planned for them to be, which is half of managing movement on a busy site.
See the range -
Entry controlTurnstiles and gates
Full and half height turnstiles and gates to control who comes in, and how quickly.
See the range
We supply, we do not install. We will help you choose the right product and price it, and your own contractor fits it. For impact tested bollards the installation has to follow the manufacturer's foundation detail, because that is what the rating depends on.
From the range
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CrashCore Bollard S15 Asphalt | ASTM F3016 Crash-Tested Safety Bollards
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CrashCore Bollard S10 | Removable ASTM F3016 Crash-Tested Safety Bollards
View product
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CrashCore Bollard S15 | ASTM F3016 Crash-Tested Safety Bollards
View product
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CrashCore Bollard S10 | ASTM F3016 Crash-Tested Safety Bollards
View product
Common questions
Is Martyn's Law in force yet?
No. The Act became law on 3 April 2025 but the duties have not started. The Security Industry Authority expects them to come into force in spring 2027 and will confirm the exact date beforehand. Nothing is legally required of you today, but the guidance is published and it makes sense to start.
Does Martyn's Law mean I have to install bollards?
No. The law does not name any product. Standard tier premises only need procedures. Enhanced tier premises must take reasonably practicable measures to reduce their vulnerability, and physical security is one of the areas to look at. Bollards are one way of dealing with vehicle risk if your own assessment finds one.
Who is the responsible person?
Whoever has control of the premises for its main use. That can be an individual, a company or an organisation. For an event, it is whoever controls the site for that event. You can hand tasks to a contractor, but the legal responsibility stays with you.
What if fewer than 200 people use my premises?
Then the Act does not apply to you. Smaller premises are still encouraged to think about how they would respond, and the free advice on ProtectUK is written for sites of every size.
Do I need to pay a consultant?
The Home Office says not. The statutory guidance is free and written so that you can make your own assessment. Bring in specialist help only if you decide you need it.
What are the penalties?
The Security Industry Authority can issue compliance notices and fines. The maximum is £10,000 for standard tier premises, and £18 million or 5% of worldwide revenue for enhanced tier premises and qualifying events. Daily penalties can be added where a breach carries on, and some failures are criminal offences. The regulator has said its first job is to advise and support.
Does Store Fittings Direct install bollards?
No. We are a supplier. We will help you choose the right product and price it, and your own contractor fits it. For impact tested bollards the installation has to follow the manufacturer's foundation detail, because that is what the rating depends on.
This page is a plain English summary, not legal advice. For your own premises, read the official guidance: Home Office statutory guidance on GOV.UK, ProtectUK. Last reviewed October 2026
