Martyn's Law for Places of Worship: What You Need to Do

TL;DR

Places of worship are always standard tier under Martyn’s Law, regardless of capacity. You need procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication. The Act is designed to work with volunteer-led organisations. A short briefing and a printed procedure card is a reasonable starting point.

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If your place of worship regularly has 200 or more people present at the same time (congregation, clergy, volunteers, staff, and visitors), it falls under the standard tier of Martyn’s Law. You need public protection procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication.

Places of worship have a unique position under the Act: they are always standard tier, regardless of capacity. A cathedral with 2,000 worshippers and a mosque with 300 are both standard tier. This recognises the distinct nature of worship and the volunteer-led way most religious buildings operate.

Does Martyn's Law Apply to Places of Worship?

Places of Worship fall under Places of worship (Schedule 1, paragraph 9) of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. If your place of worship regularly has 200 or more people present at the same time, it qualifies as a standard tier premises.

Places of worship are always standard tier, regardless of capacity.

A cathedral with 2,000 worshippers is standard tier. This is a specific provision in the Act recognising the distinct nature of worship and the volunteer-led way most religious buildings operate.

Standard tier means two duties: notify the SIA that you are a qualifying premises, and put public protection procedures in place covering evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication.

No physical alterations. No equipment to buy. No consultants to hire.

How to Work Out Your Place of worship Capacity

Count everyone present during your busiest regular services or events: worshippers, clergy, choir, musicians, volunteers, creche helpers, Sunday school teachers, visitors, and anyone else on site. Include adjoining halls if they are in use at the same time.

Many places of worship have much higher attendance during festivals and celebrations: Christmas, Easter, Eid, Diwali, High Holy Days. If these events regularly push numbers above 200, you’re in scope even if a typical Sunday morning doesn’t.

Use your seating count (pews, chairs, prayer mats) plus standing space, plus staff and volunteers. If you have fixed seating, this is straightforward. For prayer halls with flexible layouts, estimate based on your busiest regular gathering.

Not sure where you fall? Use our free capacity calculator to work it out.

Key Challenges for Places of Worship

Every place of worship is different, but these are the issues that come up most often:

Volunteer-led operations

Most places of worship rely on volunteers rather than paid staff. Volunteers may change week to week, attend irregularly, and have varying levels of confidence. Procedures need to be simple enough that anyone can follow them. Nominate a small core team who are always present and take responsibility for initiating the response.

Open-door culture

Places of worship traditionally welcome everyone. Lockdown, physically securing doors to prevent entry, sits uncomfortably with that ethos. But it protects the people already inside. It’s temporary, reversible, and only used when there’s an active threat. It doesn’t change your day-to-day welcome.

Historic buildings with limited exits

Many churches, synagogues, and temples are in historic buildings with narrow doorways, heavy doors, and limited alternative exits. Work with what you have. Identify every possible exit, including vestry doors, side chapels, and windows that could serve as emergency exits. The Act requires what is reasonably practicable, not perfection.

Diverse congregations and language barriers

Your congregation may include people who speak different languages, elderly members with mobility issues, young children, and people unfamiliar with the building. Procedures need to be inclusive. Visual signals (hand gestures, lights), multilingual signs, and designated helpers for those who need assistance are all reasonable steps.

Adjoining community spaces

Many places of worship have attached halls, meeting rooms, or community spaces that are hired out separately. If these spaces are in use during services, the people there count towards your capacity. Coordinate procedures with regular hirers and include a note in hire agreements.

Worked Example: Place of worship Procedures

A parish church with a nave seating 250, a side chapel, vestry, church hall attached via a corridor, and a small car park. Sunday service has around 220 people including 15 volunteers and clergy.

Procedure	Implementation
Capacity	250 (235 congregation + 15 volunteers and clergy)
Evacuation	Main west door to churchyard and car park; north transept door to side path; vestry door to rear lane; church hall fire exit to car park. Churchwardens stationed at main door and transept direct people out. Clergy direct from the front. Assembly point: far end of car park.
Invacuation	Nave pews away from windows (thick stone walls provide good shelter). Vestry (small, interior, lockable). Church hall if away from the threat. Side chapel (solid walls, small windows set high). Anyone in the churchyard brought inside.
Lockdown	Main west door bolted from inside (churchwarden); north transept door locked (sidesperson); vestry door locked (verger); church hall external doors locked (hall volunteer). Interior lights turned off. Stained glass windows cannot be secured but are set high and small.
Communication	Clergy or churchwarden makes announcement from the front (microphone if available, projected voice if not). WhatsApp group for volunteer team. Designated person calls 999. For hearing-impaired members, use clear hand gestures and visual signals. Creche and Sunday school leaders alerted separately to secure children.
Training	Core volunteer team (churchwardens, sidespeople, verger) briefed at start of each year and after any changes. Brief note in weekly service sheet once a quarter as a reminder. New volunteers shown exits and shelter areas when they join. Annual walkthrough with all regular volunteers. Printed procedure card at each volunteer position.

This is one example. Your procedures should reflect your specific building, layout, and circumstances. Read our full guide to public protection procedures for a detailed breakdown of what to include.

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Staff Training for Places of Worship

You are training volunteers, not employees. Keep it simple, supportive, and low-pressure. A 10-minute briefing at your annual volunteer meeting covers the essentials. Follow up with a printed card at each position (main door, side door, sound desk, creche).

Clergy and worship leaders have a natural authority in the building. If they calmly give an instruction, the congregation will follow. Make sure they know the procedures and are confident giving directions.

For hire events (weddings, concerts, community groups), include a one-page procedure summary in the hire pack. The hirer doesn’t need full training, but they should know the exits and who to contact.

The free ACT Awareness e-learning (45 minutes) is a good baseline for anyone who wants to go further. It covers recognising threats, suspicious items, and what to do during an attack.

Quick Checklist

Work out your typical maximum attendance (worshippers + clergy + volunteers at your busiest service)
Map all exit routes, including vestry doors, side chapels, and any hall connections
List every entry point and how each locks, including doors normally left open during services
Identify your safest interior areas for invacuation (vestries, interior rooms away from large windows)
Choose a communication method separate from any existing bell or PA system
Brief all volunteers, wardens, stewards, and clergy on procedures
Include procedures in hire agreements for weddings, concerts, and community groups
Consider how you’d communicate with elderly or hearing-impaired congregation members

Getting Started

Compliance is not complicated. Here is what to do:

Work out your capacity (try our free calculator). Under 200? You are not in scope.
Write procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication tailored to your place of worship.
Make sure your volunteers know the procedures. Brief them, put up posters, hand out one-page summaries.
Keep records of what you have done and who has been briefed.
Review at least once a year.

You can do this yourself, or use Standard Tier to document your procedures in 10 minutes, set up a training portal your staff and volunteers can access on their phones whenever it suits them, and keep a digital audit trail without chasing signatures or filing paperwork.

7-day free trial · No card required · From £18/month after that

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Martyn’s Law apply to places of worship right now?

Not yet. The Act was passed in April 2025 but isn’t enforceable until at least Spring 2027. Starting now gives you time to prepare at your own pace.

Our church seats 1,000 people. Are we enhanced tier?

No. Places of worship are always standard tier regardless of capacity. This is a specific provision in the Act. A church, mosque, temple, or synagogue with 5,000 capacity is still standard tier.

We are run entirely by volunteers. Is that a problem?

Not at all. The Act is designed to work for volunteer-led organisations. Procedures must be communicated to those who implement them, and that includes volunteers. A short briefing and a printed procedure card is a reasonable approach. No formal training course or qualification is needed.

Lockdown feels wrong for a place of worship. Do we have to?

Yes, you need lockdown procedures. But lockdown is temporary and reversible. It protects the people already inside during an active threat. It doesn’t change your day-to-day open-door welcome. Think of it as closing the doors during an emergency, which most buildings would do instinctively.

What about community events in our church hall, are those covered?

If the church hall is part of your premises and people are present during services or events, they count towards capacity. Include the hall in your procedures. If the hall is hired out independently and operates separately, the hirer may be the responsible person for that event. Coordinate with regular hirers either way.

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Citation

Standard Tier (2026). Martyn's Law for Places of Worship: What You Need to Do. Available at: https://www.standardtier.co.uk/guide/martyns-law-for-places-of-worship

Last reviewed: 19 March 2026. Based on the Act, the Home Office statutory guidance published on 15 April 2026, and the Home Office factsheets. Requirements may be refined as the SIA finalises its guidance.

This guide is general information about the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, not legal advice. Duties under the Act rest on the responsible person for each venue and cannot be transferred. If you're unsure how a specific requirement applies to your premises, take advice from a solicitor or qualified security adviser before acting on anything you read here.

Standard Tier is an independent platform and is not affiliated with the UK Home Office, the SIA, or any government body.