KEY POINTS
- Martyn's Law does not use your licensed or fire capacity as such. It asks how many people it is reasonable to expect on the premises at the same time, from time to time.
- The figure must include staff: employees, contractors, volunteers and anyone else working there in connection with the public use.
- Home Office supplementary document A lists six methods: safe occupancy for fire safety, historic attendance data, fixed seating or standing, tickets and pre-registration, licence or other restrictions, and other evidenced methods.
- Base it on your predictable busiest times, not an average. One-off surges that could not have been expected do not count.
- Record your method and evidence. The SIA can ask how you reached the figure, and your notification will ask for the number and how it was calculated.
The question you are actually answering
For premises, the Act asks whether it is reasonable to expect that, from time to time, 200 or more people may be present at the same time in connection with the Schedule 1 use (and whether that figure reaches 800 for the enhanced tier). For events, it asks whether 800 or more may be present at the same time at some point during the event. The Home Office now calls this an "assessment of the number of individuals expected to be present" (its factsheet notes this was formerly known as a "capacity calculation"), and the wording matters: the test is about realistic expectation, not maximum theoretical capacity.
That distinction matters. A venue with a fire safety occupancy of 850 but a well evidenced real peak of 500 can be standard tier, not enhanced. Equally, a venue that usually has 150 people but reliably packs out on match nights is in scope. If you want a quick first answer, our tier checker walks you through it.
Who counts: staff, contractors and volunteers
The Home Office is unambiguous: the figure must include all individuals on the premises, including staff working there in connection with the Schedule 1 use. "Staff" means everyone working at the premises or event, including employees, contractors, volunteers and others, whether full time, part time or on shifts.
Several methods (historic visitor counts, ticket numbers, fixed seats) only measure customers. Where that is the case, you must add the number of staff expected at the same peak. Think about who is really there at your busiest hour: bar and floor staff, kitchen, door supervisors, cleaners, performers, technicians, agency workers and volunteers.
Only people in the part of the premises used for the Schedule 1 use are counted. Staff in a separate private office, warehouse or factory that is not part of the public use are not included. You also do not count people in the street or the wider "immediate vicinity", although you must still consider that area when you design your procedures.
The six methods in the official guidance
Supplementary document A to the statutory guidance sets out six example methods. They are not prescriptive and you can combine them, for example using one method for an indoor area and another for an outdoor terrace.
| Method | What it is | Best suited to | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Safe occupancy for fire safety | The maximum number that can be safely accommodated, usually from your fire risk assessment. Building Regulations guidance in England and Wales sets out two methods for calculating it | Venues that genuinely fill to their fire limit at peak | Check whether your figure already includes staff. Outdoor areas need adding separately |
| B. Historic attendance data | Actual peak numbers from door counts, tills, footfall counters, bookings or visitor records | Venues whose real peaks are well below their fire capacity | History is not always a reliable predictor. Add staff, and review regularly |
| C. Fixed seating or standing positions | The number of fixed seats and/or fixed standing places | Theatres, cinemas, stadia, restaurants with fixed covers | Add staff and any standing or overflow areas |
| D. Tickets and pre-registration | The maximum number of tickets or registrations that can be issued | Ticketed venues and events | Add staff. Account for timed entry and how long people stay |
| E. Restrictions | A maximum attendance set by, for example, your premises licence, enforced in practice | Nightclubs and venues with an enforced licence cap | The cap must actually be managed, for example with door counting. Add staff |
| F. Other methods | Any other reasonable method, with a written justification and supporting evidence | Unusual sites, mixed areas, or where A to E do not fit | Explain why the method is appropriate, how you calculated the figure and why it is reasonable |
For method A, many premises already have an occupancy figure in their fire risk assessment. In broad terms, fire safety guidance works out the number a space can hold from its usable floor area and a floor space factor for the type of use, then checks it against how many people the exits can safely handle, taking the lower figure. If you do not have a figure, or are unsure how yours was worked out, ask your fire risk assessor rather than guessing. Our Martyn's Law vs fire risk assessment guide explains how the two fit together.
"From time to time" and "at the same time"
"At the same time" means simultaneously. A museum may welcome 850 visitors in a day but, if they come and go, only 300 may be inside at once. The guidance's stately home example uses hourly counts and average dwell time to find the true simultaneous peak.
"From time to time" means occasionally. It is not an average over a day or week. If the threshold is reached on certain nights, seasons or recurring occasions such as televised finals, it is met. The guidance gives a nightclub that exceeds 800 on five or six special nights a year as enhanced tier, and a hotel whose annual ticketed event draws 900 as enhanced tier because the event recurs.
What does not count is a genuine one-off that could not reasonably have been foreseen and is not expected again, like a product going viral overnight. Planned and predictable surges, such as Black Friday, Christmas trading or bank holiday crowds, do count.
Worked examples
These are illustrative examples showing how the methods combine. The first four are adapted from the Home Office examples; the last two are our own illustrations. Your figures will differ.
| Premises | Method | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Café | A: safe occupancy, plus outdoor seating | Indoor safe occupancy 180 (includes staff) + 30 outdoor seats regularly full = 210 | Standard tier |
| Restaurant | C: fixed seating, plus staff | 450 fixed seats full at peak + 30 staff on shift = 480 | Standard tier |
| Nightclub | B: historic data over 12 months | Fire safe occupancy 875, but peak recorded attendance including staff 725, no reason to expect more | Standard tier, reviewed before themed nights |
| Nightclub | E: licence restriction, plus staff | Licence cap of 975 enforced with door counters, plus staff on duty | Enhanced tier |
| Bar with function room | B and F combined | Busiest Saturday: main bar 160 from till and door data + function room booked for 70 + 18 staff = 248 | Standard tier |
| Gym | B: footfall data and dwell time | Peak entry gate data 140 members in the busiest hour, average stay about an hour + 12 staff = about 152 | Out of scope, review if membership grows |
Notice how the bar example crosses 200 only when the function room is in use and staff are added. That is very common, and it is why counting customers alone can give the wrong answer. Sector specific guidance is available for restaurants and cafés, nightclubs and music venues and gyms and leisure centres.
Special situations
- Groups of buildings: if several buildings form one set of qualifying premises, add the numbers expected in each building at the same time.
- Premises within premises: a shopping centre adds together everyone in all its units and common areas. But an individual shop inside it counts only its own people, not the centre's.
- Mixed use buildings: count only the part used for the Schedule 1 use. A factory shop counts the shop, not the factory floor.
- Outdoor areas: beer gardens, terraces and grounds used with the building count if they are part of the premises.
- Events at your premises: if you host events that recur and push numbers over 800, your premises may be enhanced tier. A one-off event of 800+ may instead be a qualifying event in its own right. See qualifying events.
- Places of worship, childcare, schools and further education: still assess the number, but you remain standard tier even at 800 or more.
Recording your assessment
Write down your assessment. When the law starts, your SIA notification will ask for the greatest number of people reasonably expected to be present at the same time and how you calculated it. A good record fits on one page:
- The areas included and excluded, with a simple plan if helpful.
- The method or methods used and why they suit your premises.
- The evidence: fire risk assessment figure, door or till data, seat counts, ticket limits or licence conditions, with dates.
- Your peak staff numbers and how you worked them out.
- The final figure, your tier, and any known peaks you considered.
- When you will review it, for example annually or after a refurbishment, licence change, new events programme or change in trading pattern.
Do not overstate or understate your figure to land in a particular tier. Knowingly or recklessly giving the SIA false or misleading information is a criminal offence under section 25 of the Act.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out staff, contractors or volunteers.
- Using an average week rather than your predictable peak.
- Counting a day's visitors as if they were all present at once.
- Relying on an old fire figure that no longer matches your layout.
- Forgetting outdoor areas, function rooms or mezzanines that are used at busy times.
- Not reviewing the figure as trade changes. Premises can move between tiers or into and out of scope.
Once you have your figure, read the standard vs enhanced tier comparison to see what applies. Standard tier venues can use our packs to turn their details into tailored procedures and a staff briefing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just use the capacity on my premises licence?
You can if the licence sets a maximum that you actually enforce, for example with door counting. The Home Office lists licence restrictions as an acceptable method, but you must add staff on duty if the licence figure does not include them.
Do I have to use my fire risk assessment occupancy figure?
No. It is one of six example methods. If historic data shows your realistic peak is lower, and you expect it to stay that way, you can use that instead, provided you can evidence it and review it regularly.
Do volunteers and contractors count?
Yes. The guidance defines staff as everyone working at the premises or event, including employees, contractors, volunteers and others.
What if we only go over 200 at Christmas?
If the Christmas peak is predictable and expected to recur, the 'from time to time' test is met and the premises are in scope. The guidance gives a similar example of a restaurant whose seasonal peak brings it into the standard tier.
Will the SIA check my figure?
It can. Your notification will include the figure and how it was calculated, and the SIA can use its information-gathering powers to ask how you carried out the assessment.
Sources
- Non-statutory supplementary document A: Methods for assessing the reasonable expectation of individuals present (Home Office)
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: Statutory guidance, chapter 4 (Home Office)
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: notification requirement (Home Office)
- Occupancy calculations (Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service)
General information based on the Act and published guidance, not legal advice. Check the official statutory guidance on GOV.UK for your situation.