How to work out if you reach 200

One number decides whether Martyn’s Law applies to you: the most people reasonably expected on the premises at the same time. Not your total through the day, not your membership list — the peak. Get this right and everything else follows.

The short version

• Count the most people present at once, from time to time — not the total who pass through in a day.
• Include everyone: the public, plus staff, volunteers and contractors.
• 200 or more puts you in the Standard tier; 800 or more in the Enhanced tier.
• It is the busy day that counts if it is reasonably expected to happen — not a normal quiet week.
• Whatever the number, write down how you got it. A figure with reasoning behind it is defensible; a figure on its own is a guess.

“At the same time” — not across the day

This is where most people go wrong. The test is how many are on the premises at once, not how many come and go over a day. A busy café might serve a thousand people between opening and close but never have more than fifty in at any moment — that café is nowhere near the threshold. A hall that seats 250 for a dinner has 250 at the same time, and is.

Think about your fullest realistic moment, in all the rooms and spaces in use together, and count the people who would be there then.

Who is in the count

Everyone present, not just customers or the public. That means staff, volunteers and contractors too. A venue that expects 180 guests at its busiest but also has 30 staff, caterers and volunteers on site is at 210 — over the line. Leaving your own people out is the single commonest way a count comes out wrong.

“From time to time” — the busy day counts

You do not have to hit the number every week. If it is reasonably expected to happen from time to time — the Christmas fair, a wedding, a big match, a seasonal peak — then it counts, even if you are quiet the rest of the year. “We’re usually quiet” is not the test; the day you know will come is.

How to work it out

• Start from capacity. Your fire safety occupancy figure for the space is a good starting point — it already estimates how many can safely be in a room.
• Use what you know. Ticket sales, booking sheets, table plans, past events and typical peak times all tell you the real figure better than a guess.
• Add it up across the premises. If several rooms are busy at once, it is the people in all of them together that matters, not one room at a time.
• Picture the fullest realistic moment — the point everyone is in before a show starts, or mid-way through your biggest event — and count that.

Don’t talk the number down

It can be tempting to shave the figure to slip under a threshold. Don’t. The number has to reflect the real busy day, and one that doesn’t would be the first thing to come apart if anyone ever looked. And there is no need: if you are in scope at the Standard tier the requirements are light, and the Workbook takes you through the whole thing in a few hours. Doing it properly, with your real numbers, is quicker than building a case for being out.

Where the definitive answer is

For definitive information about whether your premises or event is within scope and what is required, refer to the current statutory guidance issued under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025.