What counts as a qualifying event?

Events have their own rules under Martyn’s Law, separate from premises. An event is only caught if it is open to the public, expects 800 or more people at the same time, and controls who gets in behind a defined, secure perimeter. Most smaller gatherings, and most private events, are not qualifying events at all.

The short version

• A qualifying event is its own category — and the threshold is 800 or more expected at the same time, not the 200 that applies to premises.
• It has to be open to the public. Invitation-only occasions — a wedding, a private corporate do — are not qualifying events, however big.
• Entry has to be controlled: people get in by paying, by ticket or pass, or as a member or guest of a club or similar body — checked at a defined, secure perimeter.
• If all of that is true, a qualifying event carries the heavier, Enhanced-tier style duties — procedures, measures and a documented assessment.
• It is not in force yet — commencement is expected in spring 2027 at the earliest.

What makes an event “qualifying”

An event is a qualifying event only if all of these are true:

• It takes place at premises — a building, land, or both.
• The premises are not already enhanced tier premises (if they are, the event is covered by the premises’ own duty).
• Members of the public can attend. Access is “open in principle” even if tickets sell out.
• 800 or more people are reasonably expected to be present at the same time. Staff count towards the figure, and it does not have to hold for the whole event.
• There are measures to check a condition of entry, behind a well-defined, secure perimeter so the check actually means something.
• It is not on the short list of excluded premises (for example the Houses of Parliament and certain transport premises already covered by their own rules).

The entry check — what “controlled” means

This is the condition people get wrong. Controlled access means there is a real check that someone is entitled to be there: they have paid, hold a ticket or pass, or are a member or guest of a club, association or similar body. The check can be a person on the gate or an automated one — turnstiles, wristbands, membership cards, QR codes or barcodes — and the event needs a defined, secure perimeter so the check is meaningful. A free event can still qualify if it has a specific entry check of this kind.

What does not count as controlling entry: a search on the way in, a dress code, or a suggested donation. Those manage the crowd; they do not decide who is entitled to enter.

What is not a qualifying event

• Private, invitation-only events — weddings, members’ dinners, a company’s own party. Not open to the public, so not qualifying, whatever the headcount.
• Open, uncontrolled gatherings — a free event in a park or on the street with no entry check and no secure perimeter. Nothing to check against, so not a qualifying event.
• Anything under 800 expected at the same time.
• Events at places of worship, or childcare / primary / secondary / further education premises, which stay in the Standard tier regardless of numbers.

When the venue is the issue, not the event

There is an overlap worth understanding. If you hold a big event at premises that are themselves in scope, the duty can land in one of two ways: the event can be a qualifying event in its own right, or the host premises can be pulled up into the Enhanced tier for the duration. Which one depends on the set-up. Either way, for a private event at in-scope premises the responsibility stays with the premises’ responsible person — control does not pass to the organiser just because they have hired the room.

Who is responsible for a qualifying event?

The responsible person for an event is whoever has control of the premises for the event — the organiser running it and controlling the space it uses. Where more than one party is involved — an event organiser and a venue with its own duty — the Act expects them to co-ordinate, so far as is reasonably practicable, rather than each assume the other has it covered.

What a qualifying event has to do

Because the threshold is 800, a qualifying event sits at the heavier end. The responsible person has to notify the regulator (the Security Industry Authority) once the system opens, put appropriate public protection procedures and measures in place, and keep a documented assessment of how those reduce the risk. There is more on what that means in Public protection measures.

You have time, but not a reason to wait

Martyn’s Law is not in force yet. The statutory guidance was published on 15 April 2026, and commencement is expected in spring 2027 at the earliest, after a minimum 24-month implementation period. For a recurring event, that is time to build the arrangements into how you run it — once — rather than scrambling against a deadline.

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.