Martyn's Law for pubs and bars

Who is the responsible person in your pub?

The Act places the duties on whoever has control of the premises in connection with their use for selling food or drink (section 4 and Schedule 1, paragraph 2). Control is the test, not ownership and not who holds the premises licence. The statutory guidance says a person in control will ordinarily have physical possession of the premises, with the right and ability to make decisions about how they are managed and used, including who may stay on site (paragraph 6.3).

In a managed house, the pub company runs the pub directly and employs the manager, so the company is likely to be the responsible person. The manager does much of the day-to-day work, but as an employee they are carrying out tasks for the company. In a free house, the owner or operating business that runs the pub is the responsible person.

Tenanted and leased pubs were the subject of a correction. The original April 2026 guidance said the brewery was responsible for a tenanted pub because it held the licence. The correction slip dated 6 August 2026 changed that example: where a pub is owned by a brewery or pub company but leased by a tenant, the tenant is in control of the premises for their Schedule 1 use and is therefore the responsible person, even if the brewery or pub company holds the licence.

If you are a tenant, it still makes sense to talk to your landlord. They may control things you rely on, such as shutters, shared yards or alterations under the lease. At the standard tier the Act's specific co-operation duty in section 8(5) and (6) does not apply, because it covers only enhanced tier premises and qualifying events, so any help from the landlord at the standard tier will depend on your lease and good will. The responsibility cannot be passed to a pub company, consultant or other service provider (guidance paragraph 6.1).

Working out your number, with examples

The question in section 2 of the Act is whether it is reasonable to expect that, from time to time, 200 or more people may be present on the premises at the same time. The guidance explains that "from time to time" means occasionally, with a degree of predictability, and that "at the same time" means together at any one time. Your figure must include staff, which means everyone working there, including employees, contractors and volunteers (paragraphs 4.23 and 4.31 to 4.32). Average trade is not the test.

The guidance does not set a single method. Supplementary document A lists options such as your fire safety occupancy figure, historic attendance records, fixed seating, ticket numbers and licence limits, and says whichever method you use should be evidenced. It specifically mentions a major televised sports event bringing higher than usual attendance to a pub, and says that where similar attendance can reasonably be expected again, the premises will fall in scope.

The examples below are illustrative only. Your own position depends on your evidence.

• Regular match nights: a pub has about 140 people on a normal Friday, but big televised matches several times a season bring around 210 customers plus 12 staff. That is likely to meet the 200 test, because it is predictable and recurs.
• An annual function: a beer festival held every summer reaches about 260 people at its peak. Even though it happens once a year, it is planned and repeated, and the guidance treats planned and expected occurrences as counting. Supplementary document A gives a similar example of an annual event at a hotel.
• Occasional private hire: the function room is hired for parties of 80 a few times a month while the main bar has 130 in. If that combination happens from time to time, count everyone on the premises together, including staff.
• A genuinely unexpected one-off: a local news story brings a crowd of 230 on one night, which could not have been foreseen and is not expected to recur. The guidance says an unforeseen one-off like this does not bring premises into scope (paragraph 4.34). Keep a note of what happened in case you are asked.

Beer gardens, function rooms and outside areas

Premises can be a building, or a building and other land (section 2(2)(a)). The guidance gives a pub with a beer garden as an example of a building and other land, and explains that "other land" means land that forms part of the premises, is used for or associated with its uses, and is under the control of the responsible person (paragraphs 4.10 and 4.11). So a beer garden, terrace or smoking area that forms part of your premises should normally be counted.

Function rooms within the pub are part of the same premises, so people in them count towards the same figure. Supplementary document A also says people in the immediate vicinity, such as passers-by on the pavement, do not need to be counted, because the figure is about people on the premises.

Some areas are less clear, such as pavement seating on the public highway or a yard shared with neighbours. Check the guidance on what forms part of your premises, record what you decided and why, and take advice if the answer would change your tier. Remember that your procedures still need to think about the immediate vicinity, because section 5 refers to attacks on the premises or in their immediate vicinity.

What the standard tier actually requires

For standard tier premises, the Act has two main duties. First, the responsible person must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure that appropriate public protection procedures are in place for evacuation, moving people to a safer place inside (invacuation), preventing people entering or leaving (lockdown), and providing information to people on the premises (section 5). Second, the premises must be notified to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) under section 9 and the notification regulations, SI 2026/793.

The guidance says there is no statutory requirement to make physical alterations or buy specific equipment, although some small changes may be reasonably practicable, such as changing how a door locks (paragraph 7.25). Staff who would carry out the procedures need to know what they are and their role in them (paragraph 7.51). No specific course or certificate is legally required, and paid third-party training is not mandatory (paragraph 7.55).

Written procedures are not a legal requirement at the standard tier, and there is no statutory form to fill in. The guidance says you should still prepare a document setting out your procedures, because it helps staff understand them and it may be difficult to show compliance during an SIA inspection without one (paragraph 7.32). Treat it as good practice. The duties are not yet in force and are expected to start in spring 2027, but no commencement date has been announced.

A practical checklist for a pub manager

This is a starting point, not an official list. Adapt it to your building and your trade.

• Confirm who has control of the pub (company, tenant or owner) and therefore who the responsible person is.
• Work out your busiest realistic figure, including staff, gardens and function rooms, and keep the evidence.
• Walk the building and note exits, doors that lock, shutters, rooms that could be secured and how to stop the music.
• Write short evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication procedures, including who decides on each shift.
• Brief every member of staff, including casual and agency workers, before they work unsupervised.
• Agree with your landlord or neighbours anything you rely on them for, such as shared yards or side gates.
• Note the SIA notification deadline once the duties are commenced, and keep a record of reviews and walk-throughs.

Common questions

Read next

• Who is the responsible person?
• The August 2026 correction slip explained
• How to calculate your capacity
• Notifying the SIA
• Procedure packs for standard tier venues