The Security Industry Authority (SIA) will regulate Martyn's Law across the UK, including Northern Ireland. It has said its approach will be supportive, proportionate and risk-based. Here is what that is likely to mean for you, and what to have ready.
When does it start?
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025, with an implementation period of at least two years. The duties are expected to come into force in spring 2027. The exact date will be confirmed in advance, and nobody has to comply until then.
The groundwork is already in place. The Home Office published its statutory guidance on what premises must do on 15 April 2026, and the SIA consulted on its own guidance on how it will regulate between April and June 2026.
Notifying the SIA
Every responsible person for premises or events in scope must notify the SIA. This will be done through an online portal the SIA is building. It plans to invite volunteers to test the portal from early 2027 and will announce when it opens to everyone.
- Standard tier: tell the SIA who the responsible person is.
- Enhanced tier and qualifying events: notify the SIA, and also send it a document setting out your procedures and measures. The SIA has said it will provide templates.
How the SIA will check compliance
- Desk-based assessments of the information and documents you provide.
- On-site inspections, targeted using a risk-based approach informed by intelligence.
- Notice: the SIA expects to give at least 72 hours' notice of an inspection in most cases, though it can seek a warrant to enter without notice in some circumstances.
- The test: whether you have taken reasonable steps to comply, given the circumstances of your premises or event.
What to have ready
This is our view of good preparation, based on the Act and the published guidance. It is not an official SIA checklist.
- Who is responsible, and how that was decided, particularly where a lease, franchise or hire agreement is involved.
- Your numbers and tier, with the reasoning recorded.
- Your four procedures (evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication), and evidence that staff know them, such as briefing and training records.
- For enhanced tier: your measures, your compliance document and your designated senior individual.
- Reviews: how you check the plan after changes to the building, staffing or events.
If something is not right
The SIA has said it will advise and support first. Where that is not enough, the Act gives it formal powers, including compliance notices requiring specific steps, restriction notices for enhanced tier premises and qualifying events, and financial penalties.
- Standard tier: penalties of up to £10,000.
- Enhanced tier and qualifying events: up to £18 million or 5% of worldwide revenue, whichever is higher.
Further penalties can apply while a failure continues, and some failures, such as obstructing the regulator, are criminal offences.
Responsibility stays with you
You can take advice from a suitably knowledgeable security adviser, and you can delegate tasks, but legal responsibility cannot be passed to a contractor or consultant. The SIA and Home Office do not endorse specific companies or services, so be wary of anyone describing themselves as "SIA-approved" for Martyn's Law.
Five steps to take now
- Confirm who the responsible person is, in writing.
- Work out your realistic peak numbers and tier, and record why.
- Draft or review your four procedures.
- Brief staff and keep a record of who has been trained.
- Watch for the SIA's notification portal opening in 2027.
Keeping up to date. ProtectUK carries the official Martyn's Law guidance, scope flowcharts and updates, and the SIA publishes its guidance for responsible persons on GOV.UK.
How we can help. A Martyn's Law Readiness Review gets your tier, procedures and records in order before the SIA asks. For boards and designated senior individuals, Decision Assurance shows how to make and record decisions you can explain to the regulator.
Ready for the regulator?
Book a free 30-minute consultation. We will help you work out whether Martyn's Law applies, which tier you are in and what a proportionate first step looks like.
Request a free 30-min call ↗This article is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, the Home Office statutory guidance published on 15 April 2026 and SIA guidance as at October 2026. Check the latest position on ProtectUK or GOV.UK, or speak to us, before relying on it for your own premises. Last updated October 2026.
