Martyn's Law for small museums & galleries.
Martyn's Law applies to publicly accessible premises used for a qualifying activity where 200+ people may be present at the same time. Library, museum or gallery counts as a qualifying use — so whether your museum is in scope comes down to how many people could realistically be present, including staff.
When are small museums & galleries in scope?
A normally-quiet museum can reach 200+ at a launch event, half-term or school-group day.
The threshold counts the most people reasonably expected at once — including staff — even if that only happens occasionally. Check it against fire occupancy, ticketing or past event records, and record your decision either way. Typically the responsible person is the curator or operations lead.
- School visits, late openings and exhibition launches create attendance spikes.
- Visitors are often spread across rooms and floors, which affects evacuation and communication.
- Volunteers and front-of-house guides are key to any procedure working.
Evacuation
Getting people safely away from the premises.
Invacuation
Moving people into, or to a safer part of, the premises when leaving is not safer.
Lockdown
Restricting access to, or movement within, the premises.
Communication
Alerting people on the premises and sharing clear information quickly.
Get your museum sorted in about an hour
PremiseReady walks you through the scope decision, the four procedures and a staff sign-off log — then exports a tidy evidence pack. Enforcement expected Spring 2027.
Start the free check