Martyn's Law for churches and places of worship

Places of worship are one of the uses listed in Schedule 1 of the Act, which covers premises used for communal worship or other communal religious practice. Your building is covered if it is reasonable to expect 200 or more people there at the same time, from time to time. The count includes clergy, staff, musicians, stewards and other volunteers as well as worshippers and visitors.

Many smaller churches and chapels will find their regular services are well below 200, and festival services are where the figure is decided. The free checker will confirm whether you are in scope.

Standard tier at any size

Most premises move into the enhanced tier at 800 people. Places of worship do not. The Act provides that they are standard duty premises whatever the number, so a cathedral or a large city mosque has the same duties as a 250-seat chapel. You will not need the public protection measures, compliance document or designated senior individual that apply to other large venues.

Events held at your place of worship cannot be qualifying events either. The statutory guidance gives the example of a large synagogue hired by an events company for a concert of 1,000 people, and confirms that the concert is not a qualifying event and that the synagogue's governing body remains the responsible person.

Church halls, visitor attraction use and events off site

The standard tier rule applies to premises whose principal use is worship. A church hall that is mainly used for community bookings is assessed on its own main use, which will usually be as a hall for hire. If it is likely to hold 200 or more people, read our guide to village halls and community centres.

Some historic churches and cathedrals also operate as visitor attractions. Where worship remains the main use, the standard tier rule still applies. If a building is in practice used mainly as an attraction, check its principal use carefully, because the guidance ties the rule to worship being the main use.

The rule also covers your own premises only. If your community holds a ticketed event of 800 or more somewhere else, such as a fenced area of a park, that event may be a qualifying event with enhanced duties. The Home Office gives exactly this example for a Holi celebration organised by a temple.

The responsible person is whoever has control of the premises for their use as a place of worship. It is almost always an organisation, not the minister, priest or imam personally.

• Church of England parish church: usually the parochial church council (PCC).
• Other churches and chapels: usually the trustees, elders or church council, depending on how the church is governed.
• Mosque, gurdwara or temple: usually the trustees or management committee.
• Synagogue: usually the board of management or council.
• Cathedral: usually the cathedral's governing body.

That organisation acts through a named lead contact: a churchwarden, a parish or church administrator, a mosque secretary or an equivalent role. Write down who that is and who stands in when they are away, using a responsible person and SIA notification record. The legal duty cannot be passed to a contractor or to an organisation that hires the building, although a hire agreement can set out what you expect of hirers.

Count your biggest regular gathering, not a typical Sunday or Friday. Christmas, Easter, Eid prayers, Vaisakhi, the High Holy Days, a popular wedding season or a major annual celebration all count if they come round each year. A single funeral for a well-known figure, which nobody expects to recur, does not set your figure.

Include everyone present at that time: clergy, choir and musicians, stewards and sidespeople, children's and youth leaders, café or kitchen volunteers, and any contractors working at the time. Fixed seating (pews or chairs that stay in place) plus an allowance for standing and volunteers is often the clearest method for a church. Attendance records are useful if you keep them, and your fire risk assessment occupancy figure is a sensible check.

Write down your figure, the method and your reasoning in a capacity assessment record. The SIA can ask how you reached it. Our guide on how to work out your capacity explains the six Home Office methods.

The Act requires procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, so far as reasonably practicable. Places of worship bring particular challenges: old buildings, large open spaces, many entrances, and a congregation that includes children, older people and people with limited mobility.

Evacuation

Historic buildings often have several doors, some kept locked or used only for processions or funerals. Check which exits open from the inside without a key, and make sure they are unlocked whenever the building is in use. Decide where people go once outside, away from the main entrance, the porch and the road, and how stewards will help those who cannot move quickly. Set this out in your evacuation procedure.

Invacuation

If the danger is outside, such as an incident in the street during a festival, people may be safer staying in. Choose a space away from the main doors and large windows, such as a vestry, side chapel, hall or crypt, and decide who closes and secures the external doors. Your invacuation procedure should name the space and the steps.

Lockdown

Lockdown is hard in a building with tall glass windows and heavy doors that take time to close. Be realistic about what can be secured quickly. Identify the solid-walled rooms that lock, such as vestries, offices, towers and crypts, and who holds the keys during services. Record which doors lock from the inside and any that need a simple bolt in the lockdown procedure.

Communication

During a service the PA is usually on and someone is already at the microphone, which is a real advantage. Agree in advance that the person leading worship will stop and hand over immediately when a steward gives a signal, and agree what will be said. Short scripts for evacuation, invacuation and lockdown are in the communication procedure.

When calling 999 and unable to speak, stay on the line, listen to the call handler and press 55 when prompted.

Stewards, sidespeople and welcomers are spread throughout the building and people already look to them for direction. In practice they are the people who will make the first decisions, so brief them before anyone else. The most senior person on duty at each service, whether a churchwarden, a steward or a committee member, should know they are in charge until the emergency services arrive.

Volunteer rotas change from week to week, which makes written procedures especially valuable. A one-page staff and volunteer briefing sheet kept in the vestry or office, and read by the steward on duty before each service, keeps everyone working from the same plan. Record who has been briefed in a briefing and review log, and put a wall poster where stewards gather.

1. 01Ask the PCC, trustees or committee to confirm that they are the responsible person and to name the lead contact.
2. 02Count your biggest regular service or festival, everyone included, and record the method.
3. 03Walk the building with your stewards and test every exit from the inside.
4. 04Choose your invacuation space and identify the rooms that lock.
5. 05Write down your four procedures and brief your stewards and regular volunteers.
6. 06Add a short briefing to the start of each steward rota and review the procedures every year.

The law does not require a written document at standard tier, but the statutory guidance says documenting even simple procedures is good practice. For a rota of volunteers, a written plan is the most reliable way to keep everyone informed. Our Standard Tier Pack prepares all ten documents for your place of worship, with the PCC or trustees named as the responsible person, from £79 a year. See pricing. It is a set of templates to review and adopt, not legal advice.

For the wider picture, read Martyn's Law explained and the full list of covered buildings.