KEY POINTS
- An event qualifies if it is open to the public, 800 or more people (including staff) are expected at the same time at some point, and there are checks that attendees have paid, hold a ticket or pass, or are members or guests.
- It must not be at enhanced tier premises, at excluded premises, or at a place of worship, childcare setting, school or further education premises.
- The responsible person is whoever controls the premises for the event, usually the organiser who has hired or taken over the site.
- Qualifying events carry the enhanced tier duties: procedures, measures, a compliance document sent to the SIA, notification within 14 days and a senior individual for organisations.
- Free events can qualify if entry is checked. Suggested donations, dress codes and pay-to-take-part fees do not count as entry checks.
What makes an event a qualifying event
Section 3 of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 defines a qualifying event. The Home Office statutory guidance breaks it into six criteria, and an event is in scope only if all six are met.
- It is held at premises consisting of a building, other land, or a building and other land. Unlike qualifying premises, a field or park with no building counts.
- The premises are not enhanced tier premises and do not form part of them.
- Members of the public will have access to the premises to attend the event.
- It is reasonable to expect that, at some point during the event, 800 or more people may be present at the same time in connection with the event, including staff.
- There are measures to secure or check that members of the public attending have paid, have a ticket or pass, or are members or guests of a club, association or similar body.
- The event is not excluded by Part 2 of Schedule 2.
Organising something smaller, or at a regular venue? The venue itself may be qualifying premises instead. Our tier checker covers both premises and events.
The tests that cause most confusion
Public access. Members of the public must be eligible to attend in principle, even if tickets sell out. Events where entry is personal to the guest, such as a wedding reception or a staff party for invited employees, are not publicly accessible. A members' club event is different: the Act treats members of the public who are members or guests of a club as members of the public.
800 at the same time, at some point. This is the highest number present at once, not an average or a daily total. If a four day festival only expects to reach 800 on its final evening, it is a qualifying event for the whole four days. Staff count, including back of house areas such as kitchens. Timed entry that genuinely keeps numbers below 800 at any one time can keep an event out of scope. Our guide to calculating numbers covers the methods, including ticket limits.
Entry checks. There must be a meaningful check on entry to the premises, or the part where the event is held, which in practice means a well-defined and secure perimeter. Checks can be done by staff or automatically, for example by turnstiles.
| Counts as an entry check | Does not count |
|---|---|
| Paper or e-tickets checked at the gate | A suggested donation or voluntary entry charge |
| Wristbands, passes or lanyards checked on entry | A dress code or search policy on its own |
| QR codes or barcodes scanned at turnstiles | A fee to take part (for example a race entry) where spectators can wander in freely |
| Membership cards for a club, association or similar body | A link to a company or partnership, which the guidance says is not "similar" to a club |
| Free tickets or registrations that are checked at the door | Open-access streets, pavements or towpaths with no check |
Excluded events and venues where events cannot qualify
Some events can never be qualifying events, however large:
- Events at enhanced tier premises. The venue's responsible person must already cover everything that happens there, so responsibility does not pass to the organiser, though the organiser must co-operate.
- Events at premises occupied for Parliament, the devolved legislatures or devolved governments, or at transport premises excluded because of their own security regimes.
- Events at premises wholly or mainly used as a place of worship, for registered childcare, or as a primary, secondary or further education institution. These premises stay in the standard tier and their usual responsible person remains responsible, even for a 1,000 person concert.
Where the guidance discusses these venues, it suggests the responsible person sets out public protection duties in the hire agreement with the event organiser. See exemptions and special cases for more on these settings.
Who is responsible for a qualifying event
Under section 4, the responsible person is whoever will have control of the premises where the event is held, in connection with their use for the event. That is often different from whoever controls the site the rest of the year.
- A company hires part of a council park under contract and takes control of that area for a concert: the company is responsible. If the council keeps control and simply contracts out stewarding or ticketing, the council is responsible.
- A private company takes over a standard tier village hall for a one-off ticketed fundraiser expected to reach 800: the company is responsible for the event, and the hall committee stays responsible for the hall outside the event. The two must co-ordinate.
- A members' club runs a members-only ticketed festival of 2,000 in a hired, fenced area of a park: the club is responsible and must meet the enhanced duties.
Responsibility can be shared, and anyone else with some control, such as the landowner, must co-operate so far as reasonably practicable. Legal responsibility cannot be contracted out to a production company, security firm or consultant, although tasks can be. Read who is the responsible person for the full picture.
Events at venues that are already in scope
How an event interacts with a venue's own status depends on how often it happens.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Event of 800+ at enhanced tier premises | Not a qualifying event. The venue's responsible person covers it |
| One-off event of 800+ at standard tier premises | Can be a qualifying event for its duration. The premises stay standard tier |
| Events of 800+ that recur at standard tier premises, even once a year | The premises are likely to become enhanced tier, because 800 is reached from time to time |
| Event of 800+ at premises not otherwise in scope, such as a private warehouse or country estate | A qualifying event if the other tests are met; the premises are in scope for the event |
| Event across open-access areas and fenced zones, such as a marathon or carnival | Each controlled area that separately reaches 800 is assessed on its own. Open-access streets are not in scope, unless in the immediate vicinity |
The guidance's examples are useful here. A football ground that usually draws 600 but hosts a one-off testimonial for 1,000 has a qualifying event. A sports ground that hosts ten large concerts and firework displays a year is enhanced tier premises. A city-wide marathon may have several separate qualifying events: the grandstands, start area and finish area each with their own entry checks.
What organisers of qualifying events must do
Qualifying events are subject to the same requirements as enhanced tier premises:
- Notify the SIA. If the event is first publicised after commencement, you have 14 days from when it was first publicised. Events first publicised before commencement must be notified within 14 days of commencement. The notification includes event dates, admission times, expected numbers and how they were calculated, and whether similar events have happened before or will be repeated.
- Put appropriate public protection procedures in place for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, adapted to the site. The guidance accepts that some may not be appropriate, for example invacuation at an outdoor firework display with no indoor space, and suggests recording why.
- Assess and put in place appropriate public protection measures covering monitoring, movement of people, physical safety and security, and security of information, so far as reasonably practicable.
- Prepare a compliance document and send it to the SIA as soon as reasonably practicable, then within 30 days of any revision.
- Designate a senior individual if the responsible person is an organisation.
- Co-ordinate with the venue's responsible person and others with duties, and secure the co-operation of the landowner where needed.
Our guides to events and festivals and enhanced tier duties go further, and sector advice is available for conference and events venues.
Worked examples
Illustrative examples based on the Home Office guidance and supplementary document B.
| Event | Key facts | Qualifying event? |
|---|---|---|
| Music event in a field | Ticketed, checked by security on entry, 900 tickets plus 300 staff | Yes, 1,200 expected at once |
| Festival with day and evening tickets | Peak after 6pm of 850 public plus 70 staff | Yes, for the whole event |
| Light show in a park | Timed entry keeps numbers to 300 at any one time | No, never reaches 800 |
| Fun run in a public park | Runners pay and are checked for a race number, but spectators gather freely | No, the fee is for taking part, not for entry |
| Company networking evening | 900 invited guests on a guest list in the company's offices | No, not open to the public |
| Fundraising concert at a large synagogue | 1,000 expected | No, events at places of worship cannot qualify; the synagogue stays standard tier |
| One-off art fair in estate outbuildings | Ticketed, 800+ expected, organiser hires the site | Yes, the organiser is responsible |
Frequently asked questions
Do free events count as qualifying events?
They can. The entry check test is met by free tickets, registrations, wristbands or passes that are checked on entry. A suggested donation, with no check that people have paid, does not meet the test.
Does the 800 include staff and performers?
Yes. The figure must include everyone working at the event, including staff, contractors and volunteers, in the parts of the premises used for the event, including back of house areas.
Our venue is enhanced tier. Is a big event there a qualifying event?
No. Events at enhanced tier premises are not qualifying events. The venue's responsible person must ensure its procedures and measures cover the event, and the organiser must co-operate where it has some control.
When must I notify the SIA about an event?
Within 14 days of the event first being publicised, if that happens after commencement. For events publicised before commencement, within 14 days of commencement. Events that took place before commencement are not notified.
Are weddings and private parties covered?
Not as qualifying events, because access is personal to invited guests rather than open to the public. If they take place at qualifying premises such as a hotel, the hotel's responsible person still covers them.
Sources
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, sections 3 and 4 and Schedule 2 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: Statutory guidance, chapters 5 and 6 (Home Office)
- Non-statutory supplementary document B: Scope, illustrative examples (Home Office)
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: notification requirement (Home Office)
General information based on the Act and published guidance, not legal advice. Check the official statutory guidance on GOV.UK for your situation.