Does Martyn's Law require a written plan?
Last reviewed:
No, not by law. Standard-tier venues have no legal requirement to produce a written document under Martyn's Law. But the guidance itself, in the same paragraph that confirms this, goes on to recommend preparing one anyway, and explains why in terms worth reading properly rather than skimming past. Here's para 7.32 in full, and what each part of it actually means for you.
The paragraph itself
"…there is no legal requirement to prepare a document stating the procedures in place… However, the responsible person should prepare a document like this… It may also be difficult to demonstrate compliance with the Act – for example, in the event of an inspection by the SIA – if the procedures are not documented in some form. Templates will be developed which are optional and indicative."
Statutory guidance, para 7.32
No legal requirement
Read literally, and correctly: nobody can lawfully tell you a written plan is mandatory at the standard tier. Anyone claiming otherwise, including a consultant trying to sell you a "compliance document" as a legal necessity, is overstating the law.
"Should prepare a document like this"
In the very next sentence, the guidance recommends doing it anyway. That's not a contradiction, it's the guidance distinguishing between what the law requires and what it thinks is sensible practice, which is exactly the three-way split worth holding onto throughout Martyn's Law: what the law requires, what the guidance recommends, and what we, or anyone else, might additionally suggest. This sentence sits firmly in the middle category.
Why: communication and demonstrating compliance
Two practical reasons follow. First, an unwritten plan lives in one person's head, which is a fragile way to brief a team, especially with any staff turnover. Second, the guidance flags directly that "it may also be difficult to demonstrate compliance… in the event of an inspection by the SIA" without something documented. Inspectors can view physical and electronic documents and ask you to explain them; a written record turns that into a calm, quick conversation rather than trying to reconstruct your thinking on the spot. See what happens if the SIA inspects your venue for the full inspection process.
"Documented in some form"
The guidance's wording is deliberately loose: "in some form", not "in a prescribed format". There's no mandated template, no required length, no specific structure you must follow, until the official templates promised in the last sentence are actually published. A short document you wrote yourself, covering your capacity basis, your responsible person, your four procedures and a staff briefing record, satisfies this. See our free template for exactly that structure, filled in with a worked example.
The three-way split, spelled out
This page is probably the clearest single example of a distinction worth applying to everything you read about Martyn's Law:
- The law requires: public protection procedures in place, and SIA notification. Nothing about documenting them.
- The guidance recommends: writing your procedures down, because it helps you brief staff and demonstrate compliance if inspected.
- We suggest: doing it sooner rather than later, using a short template, so it's ready before you ever need it, not assembled under pressure during an inspection.
What to do next
Confirm your tier with the free checker, then use our free template to write your procedures down in the couple of pages it actually takes. See the standard tier explained for the full duty this document supports.
Common questions
Can I be fined for not having a written document?
Not for the document itself. There's no legal requirement to have one, so there's nothing to fine you for on that basis alone. The actual duty is having procedures in place and working, not paperwork describing them. The practical risk is different: if you can't readily show or explain your procedures at an inspection, that's harder to distinguish from not having them at all.
Does it need professional drafting?
No. Nothing in the guidance calls for a lawyer, consultant or accredited assessor to write it. A document written by whoever runs the venue, in plain language, covering the same ground as our free template, is exactly what the guidance is describing when it talks about a document "like this".
How long should it be?
Short. A couple of pages covering your capacity basis, your responsible person, your four procedures and a staff briefing record is enough for most standard-tier venues. The guidance favours something people will actually read and follow over a long document nobody opens.
About this guide. Written by the Martyn's Law Plan team, based on the statutory guidance published under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. Last reviewed: . Read the official guidance on GOV.UK.
Sources: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025; Home Office statutory guidance (April 2026, updated May 2026) and supplementary documents. Paragraph references are to the statutory guidance. General information, not legal advice. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.