Martyn's Law for pubs and bars

Pubs and bars fall under the "food and drink" use in Schedule 1 of the Act: premises where food or drink is sold mainly for consumption on the premises by visiting members of the public. For almost every pub, that part is not in question. What decides whether you are covered is the number of people.

Your pub is covered if it is reasonable to expect 200 or more people on the premises at the same time, from time to time. That figure includes your staff on shift, not only customers. Most pubs that are covered will be in the standard tier, which runs from 200 to 799 people. The free checker will confirm where you sit.

Beer gardens, terraces and smoking areas count

The Act covers a building together with the land that goes with it, so customers in the garden, on a terrace or in a smoking shelter form part of your total. The Home Office's own guidance on counting gives the example of a café with an indoor occupancy of 180 and 30 outdoor seats, which it assesses at 210 and places in the standard tier. Some pubs that feel comfortably small inside may cross 200 on a warm evening once the garden is full.

Busy nights that come round again

The test is your busiest regular period, not a typical Tuesday and not the night everyone still talks about. Match days, live music nights, quiz nights, bank holidays and the weeks before Christmas all count if they happen most years. The Home Office's scope examples include a pub that has up to 175 people on weekdays but regularly more than 200 at weekends, and conclude that it is in the standard tier.

A genuine one-off that is not expected to recur, such as a single private party, does not set your figure. Large televised events can, though: if you reasonably expect a similar crowd for the next major tournament, that crowd counts.

Pubs with large annual events

If your pub hosts an event of 800 or more people that comes round each year, such as a beer festival in the grounds, take care. The Home Office gives the example of a pub with a usual peak of 100 that holds an annual festival of more than 800, and concludes that the pub itself becomes an enhanced tier premises. Enhanced tier carries further duties, including public protection measures and a compliance document, which this guide and our pack do not cover.

The responsible person is whoever has control of the pub in connection with its use as a pub. Control usually means physical possession and the right to make decisions about how the premises are run. It is normally an organisation, such as the operating company, rather than an individual.

For a freehouse run by its owner, the answer is usually simple: the owning company, partnership or sole trader. For tenanted, leased and managed pubs it depends on the arrangement. The statutory guidance gives the example of a pub owned by a brewery or pub company and leased by a tenant, where the brewery or pub company holds the licence. As corrected by the Home Office in August 2026, it concludes that the tenant is the responsible person, because the tenant is in control of the pub. Owning the building or holding the licence does not by itself make someone the responsible person; control does. In a managed pub, where the pub company runs the business through its own employed manager, the pub company will usually be in control.

If you run a pub under a tenancy, lease or management agreement, ask your pub company to confirm in writing who will notify the SIA and who holds the duty. Whoever it is, they cannot delegate the legal responsibility to a contractor, but they can ask the manager on site to carry out the day-to-day tasks. Record the outcome on a responsible person and SIA notification record.

The Home Office describes six methods for working out expected numbers. For most pubs, two are the most useful.

• Fire safety occupancy figure. If your pub is often full, use the occupancy figure from your fire risk assessment, adding the garden if it is not already included.
• Your own records. If you are rarely near that figure, door counts, till data and bookings for your busiest regular nights give a fairer picture.

Whichever method you use, add everyone working on that shift, including bar, floor, kitchen and door staff and any performers. Write down the figure, the method and why you chose it in a capacity assessment record, because the SIA can ask how you reached it. Our guide on how to work out your capacity explains every method with worked examples.

The Act requires procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, so far as reasonably practicable. In a pub, each of them depends on staff who already know the building better than anyone else in it.

Evacuation

Your staff know the back-of-house routes through the kitchen, past the cellar and out to the yard. Customers do not, and in an emergency most people head for the door they came in through, which may be where the danger is. Your evacuation procedure should say which exits staff open and direct people to, who covers each one, and where people go once outside, well away from the front of the pub and the road.

Invacuation

If the danger is outside, the people most exposed are in the garden, on the terrace and in the smoking area. Decide who brings them in, through which door, and where inside they gather, away from the front windows and glazed doors. The invacuation procedure sets out the steps, including closing and securing the external doors once people are in.

Lockdown

Lockdown means preventing people from entering or leaving. In a pub that usually means securing the front and garden doors quickly, and knowing which inside rooms can be locked or barricaded if a threat is already inside. Cellars, kitchens, stores and offices are often the most solid spaces with the fewest ways in. Check which doors actually lock, who holds the keys on each shift and whether any need a simple bolt, and record it in the lockdown procedure.

Communication

If you have a PA or a DJ microphone, decide who uses it and what they say. If you do not, your plan can rely on clear, practised instructions from staff working the room. Agree a code word so that staff can warn each other, or call a lockdown, without alarming an attacker or setting off a rush. Short scripts for each situation 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. Make sure every manager knows this.

Pubs have high staff turnover and many casual and part-time workers, so briefing needs to be part of induction rather than a once-a-year event. A one-page staff briefing sheet read and signed on someone's first shift covers the essentials: the three options, the exits, the code word and how to call 999.

Door staff deserve particular attention. They are often first to see trouble and first to need to act, and they may be supplied by a contractor. Brief them as part of your team, and remember that using a door contractor does not move the legal duty away from the responsible person. Keep a note of who has been briefed in a briefing and review log, and put a wall poster behind the bar or by the staff exit.

1. 01Pick your busiest regular night and count everyone on the premises, including the garden and staff.
2. 02Confirm with your pub company or co-owners who the responsible person is and who acts for them on site.
3. 03Walk the pub with your managers and agree the exits, the safe area inside, the lockable rooms and the code word.
4. 04Write down your four procedures and brief every member of staff, including casual and door staff.
5. 05Add the briefing to your induction checklist and set a date to review everything in twelve months.

The law does not require a written document at standard tier, but the statutory guidance says documenting even simple procedures is good practice, and it is far easier to brief a changing team from a page than from memory. Our Standard Tier Pack builds all ten documents for your pub from your answers, from £79 a year. See pricing. It is a set of templates for you to review and adopt, not a guarantee of compliance.

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