For a standard tier venue, the most the regulator can charge is £10,000, plus up to £500 a day if a compliance notice is ignored. None of it applies yet: the duties aren't in force. And the regulator says it will start by helping, not fining.
Most community venues are in the standard tier: 200 to 799 people at once. Places of worship, schools and childcare premises stay in it however many people come, where that's the building's main use. If you're not sure where you stand, check your venue. For the law as a whole, start with what is Martyn's Law?
Nothing applies yet
The Act became law on 3 April 2025, but its duties start only when regulations bring them in. Until then, the Home Office says there's "no legal requirement to comply" (overarching factsheet). The sections on notices and penalties aren't in force either. See when Martyn's Law comes into force.
How the regulator says it will work
The regulator is the Security Industry Authority (SIA). What it and the Home Office have said so far:
- Help first. A core principle of the SIA's approach is to "support, advise and guide" the people responsible (overarching factsheet).
- Proportionate. The SIA describes its approach as "supportive, proportionate and risk-based" (SIA, 16 June 2026).
- Reasonable steps. Its focus will be on whether venues have taken reasonable steps, and it will consider each venue's circumstances (SIA: its role as regulator).
- Enforcement for the serious cases. The Home Office describes the SIA taking enforcement action where there's "serious or persistent non-compliance" (enforcement factsheet).
The SIA consulted on its own guidance on how it will use its powers, and plans to publish the final version. We'll add it to what's changed when it does.
What the SIA can do
These are the SIA's powers under the Act, in the order you'd usually meet them.
It can check. It can look at your plans from its desk, ask for information, or visit. It will usually give at least 72 hours' notice in writing before a visit, and needs a warrant to enter without notice (the Act, Schedule 3).
It can give a compliance notice. If it has reasonable grounds to think a duty isn't being met, it can tell you what to put right and by when. It must give its reasons, and give you a chance to respond before the notice is sent (section 13).
It can give a penalty notice. This is a money penalty. The SIA has to be satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that a duty hasn't been met. It doesn't have to give a compliance notice first, and you get at least 28 days to pay (section 17). The Home Office says the SIA must tell you before it gives any notice, so you can make your case (enforcement factsheet).
It can add daily penalties, but only when a penalty is given for not following a compliance notice, for each day the problem carries on (section 19).
Restriction notices don't apply to you. These can limit how a building is used or how many people can be in it, but only for enhanced tier premises and qualifying events (section 14).
The amounts, for standard tier venues
| What | Most it can be | Where it's set |
|---|---|---|
| A penalty for not meeting a duty | £10,000 | Section 18 |
| A penalty for not coming to an interview the SIA asked for | £5,000 | Section 18 |
| A daily penalty, while a compliance notice isn't followed | £500 a day | Section 19 |
These are upper limits, not set fines. The government can change them by regulations (sections 18(8) and 19(6)). The amounts for the enhanced tier are much higher.
When it decides an amount, the SIA must think about the effects of what went wrong, anything you did to put it right, and whether you can afford to pay (section 20).
Is it a crime?
For a standard tier venue, the main tool is a money penalty. The Home Office expects penalty notices to be "the primary method of enforcement" (enforcement factsheet).
Not following a compliance notice is a criminal offence only for enhanced tier premises and qualifying events (section 24). A few offences apply to everyone, and they're about being honest and open with the regulator:
- Giving the SIA information you know is false or misleading, or not caring whether it is (section 25).
- Deliberately obstructing an inspector (Schedule 3, para 11).
- Not following an information notice, unless you took all reasonable steps to (Schedule 3, para 10).
The Home Office says the SIA may refer people for prosecution in the most serious cases, where it's proportionate and in the public interest (enforcement factsheet).
You can appeal
You can appeal against a compliance notice or a penalty notice to a tribunal within 28 days. The tribunal can cancel or change it if it was based on a wrong fact, wrong in law, or unfair or unreasonable. While your appeal is open, the notice has no effect unless the tribunal orders otherwise (section 16 and section 22).
The Act also doesn't give anyone a new right to sue you for not meeting its duties, though rights that exist outside the Act still apply (section 31).
What this means for you
The SIA's own words point the same way: it wants venues to have taken reasonable steps, and it says it will help them get there. For a standard tier venue, reasonable steps usually means:
- Your four plans. Get everyone out (evacuation), bring everyone in (invacuation), lock down (lockdown) and keep people informed (communication). Our free templates are a start.
- The people with a role know them. A short briefing is enough; no course is needed.
- A simple record of your plans and who you've briefed, so a check is easy.
- Tell the SIA about your venue when the way to do it opens, on GOV.UK.
If the SIA ever writes to you, read it, reply, and fix what it asks. That's what the notices are for.
hailo drafts your plans from your answers, briefs your people by link and keeps a dated record of who has confirmed. See how it works, or try the free readiness check.
Where to read more
- The Act, sections 12 to 26: investigations, enforcement and penalties
- Home Office: the regulator, sanctions and enforcement factsheet
- SIA: understanding Martyn's Law and the SIA's role as regulator
- SIA: its consultation on its Martyn's Law guidance closes (16 June 2026)
General information, not legal advice.