Martyn's Law enhanced tier: what it is, and is it you?
The enhanced tier of Martyn's Law applies to qualifying premises where 800 or more people may reasonably be expected at the same time. On top of the standard-tier duties it adds public protection measures, a compliance document submitted to the SIA, and a designated senior individual. Most community venues never reach it — and places of worship and most education settings stay standard tier whatever their size. Wellinhand focuses on the standard tier; if you're genuinely enhanced, this guide points you to the official guidance and to professional advice. The law is expected to commence in Spring 2027.
If you've landed here worried that your venue is in the "enhanced" tier, the most likely answer is a reassuring one: it probably isn't. The enhanced tier is for genuinely large premises, and a few rules keep most community venues — even big ones — firmly in the standard tier. Here's the honest picture, including where to go if it really is you.
What the enhanced tier is
Martyn's Law has two tiers. The standard tier covers qualifying premises where 200 to 799 people may reasonably be expected at the same time. The enhanced tier covers those where 800 or more may reasonably be expected at once — the same realistic-attendance test, counting everyone, just at a much bigger number.
800 is a realistic-attendance figure, not a capacity sign. As with the 200 threshold, it's the number of people you could reasonably expect present at the same time, counting the public and everyone working — not the maximum your building could physically hold. A venue that "feels big" but rarely gathers 800 at once is not enhanced.
Why most large venues are still standard tier
- Places of worship stay standard tier, whatever their size. A cathedral or a large mosque that gathers well over 800 at a festival is still standard tier — the enhanced duties never apply to worship use. (More in our churches and other places of worship guides.)
- Most education settings stay standard tier too, regardless of capacity.
- The 800 test is realistic, not theoretical — so many venues that look large are comfortably under it in practice.
Between them, these rules mean the set of community venues genuinely in the enhanced tier is small.
What the enhanced tier adds, in outline
If a venue is in the enhanced tier, it carries everything the standard tier asks — notify, the four procedures, people who know them — plus three things:
- Public protection measures. Practical steps — around monitoring, the movement of people, physical safety and security, and information security — to reduce how vulnerable the premises is and the risk of harm, so far as is reasonably practicable. This is the step up from "procedures" to "measures".
- A compliance document submitted to the SIA: a statement of the procedures and measures in place and an assessment of how they reduce risk, kept up to date.
- A designated senior individual. Where the responsible person is an organisation, a named senior person responsible for the enhanced-tier duties.
The SIA's enforcement powers also go further at this tier — including restriction and closure notices, which do not apply to standard-tier venues.
If this is genuinely your premises
We'll be straight with you: the enhanced tier is beyond what Wellinhand sets out to do. We're built for the standard-tier community venues that make up the vast majority — village halls, churches, clubs, community centres — and we deliberately don't offer enhanced-tier compliance documents or security measures, because that's a different job with a different risk profile, and doing it half-heartedly would help no one.
So if you're confident you're in the enhanced tier, the right next steps are:
- Start with the official statutory guidance on GOV.UK, which covers the enhanced duties in full.
- For premises of that scale, professional security advice may genuinely be worth it — this is one of the few cases where buying in expertise makes sense.
Telling you that — rather than selling you something we're not the right people to provide — is the whole point of how we work.
Not certain which tier applies to you? The free scope checker sorts it in three minutes, and handles the worship and education rules for you.
Common questions
What's the difference between standard and enhanced tier?
The standard tier covers qualifying premises where 200 to 799 people may reasonably be expected at the same time; its duties are to notify the SIA, have four workable procedures, and make sure people know them — no physical measures. The enhanced tier covers premises where 800 or more may be expected at once, and adds public protection measures, a compliance document for the SIA, and a designated senior individual. Most community venues are standard tier.
Is my venue in the enhanced tier?
Only if 800 or more people may reasonably be expected to be present at the same time — realistic attendance, counting everyone, not your building's maximum capacity. Many venues that feel large are comfortably under 800 in practice, and the worship and education carve-outs (below) keep many large premises in the standard tier whatever their size.
Can a large church, mosque or school be enhanced tier?
No. Places of worship and most education settings are standard tier regardless of capacity — a cathedral or large mosque that gathers well over 800 at a festival is still standard tier, and the enhanced duties never apply to worship use. This is one of the most reassuring parts of the whole law for large faith venues.
Does Wellinhand help with the enhanced tier?
No — and we'll say so plainly. Wellinhand is built for standard-tier community venues, and we deliberately don't offer enhanced-tier compliance documents or security measures. If you're genuinely enhanced, start with the official statutory guidance and consider professional security advice.
Not sure which tier you're in?
Our free scope checker sorts standard from enhanced in three minutes — and most venues that worry they're enhanced turn out to be standard. If you genuinely are enhanced, the official guidance is your starting point.