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.
Does Martyn's Law apply to small museums & galleries?
It can. "Library, museum or gallery" is a qualifying use under Schedule 1 of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, so your museum is in scope if it is reasonable to expect 200 or more people — including staff — to be present at the same time, even if that only happens from time to time. A normally-quiet museum can reach 200+ at a launch event, half-term or school-group day.
What does the standard tier actually require for your museum?
Standard tier (200–799 people) asks for public protection procedures covering evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication — so far as reasonably practicable — plus notifying the SIA that you are responsible for the premises. There is no requirement to buy equipment, hire security or pay consultants; the Home Office estimates compliance at roughly £330 a year of staff and management time.
Who is the responsible person for small museums?
The responsible person is whoever has control of the premises in connection with its qualifying use — for small museums & galleries that is typically the curator or operations lead. They own the scope decision, the procedures and the SIA notification, though the practical work can be shared.
When does your museum need to comply?
The Act received Royal Assent in April 2025 and statutory guidance was published in April 2026. Enforcement is expected from Spring 2027, with the SIA's notification portal opening in early 2027. Nothing is legally required yet — but the venues that record their scope decision and procedures now will find notification trivial when it opens.
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.
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