Martyn's Law by premises type
Martyn's Law for Restaurants and Cafes
Where this is up to
It's law. No one's checking yet. You've got time to get ready.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent in April 2025. The duties are not yet in force: commencement is expected no earlier than spring 2027, after a 24-month implementation period. Nothing has to be submitted to the SIA today, so the work now is recording your scope, your procedures, and your staff awareness.
- Apr 2025 The Act received Royal Assent
- Apr 2026 Home Office statutory guidance first published
- Jun 2026 SIA enforcement guidance in consultation (until 12 June)
- Spring 2027 Earliest the operator duties commence
Worth doing now
- Confirm the number behind your tier, and keep the method you used to reach it.
- Draft the four procedures (evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, communication) and brief your team.
- Start building records now, so they're there before duties commence.
Restaurants
What pushes a service past 200
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Covers, queues, and staff all matter
The number is more than seated covers. Include staff on shift and people expected to be present in connection with the premises, such as private dining guests or recurring queueing patterns.
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Private dining can change the answer
A restaurant below 200 on ordinary service may cross the threshold when private rooms, events, terraces, or seasonal service are counted together.
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Procedures have to work during service
A dinner service lockdown (securing people safely inside) or invacuation (moving people to a safer place within the building) procedure needs roles, communication routes, and customer handling that make sense when the kitchen and floor are active.
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Outside seating can be part of the premises
A terrace, courtyard, or pavement-seating area can form part of the assessment where it is used with the restaurant. Record how you treated it rather than relying on indoor covers only.
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Use the official examples carefully
The Home Office's restaurant examples are useful templates for proportionate procedures, but they are not a ready-made plan for your restaurant.
Worked example
How capacity adds up for restaurants
Capacity check
- Indoor covers
- 150
- Terrace
- 40
- Private dining room
- 20
- Staff on shift
- 18
Reasonably expected at the same time
228
A city brasserie at its Christmas peak
Indoor covers come to 150, but the terrace, private dining room and staff are all present at the same time on peak service. Counted together, the brasserie tips into standard tier.
Illustrative example applying the official capacity method. It is not a determination, so record your own assessment and the data behind it.
Capacity checker
Your busiest moment is what counts
Restaurant & café capacity check
Count the people present together during a recurring peak service, not covers alone.
Source: GOV.UK capacity methodology
GOV.UK says to determine the “greatest number of individuals reasonably expected to be present at the same time.” Its factsheet also says to include workers, and to consider immediate-vicinity areas for procedures rather than the threshold count.
Read the GOV.UK factsheet →Records
What to keep on file for Restaurants
- Capacity assessment with seating, terrace, private dining, queueing, and staff assumptions recorded.
- Booking, EPOS, event-calendar, and staffing evidence for repeated busy periods such as Christmas, graduations, or weekend peaks.
- Procedure versions for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication during service.
- Staff awareness evidence for managers, front-of-house, kitchen, cleaning, and security contractors.
- Event or private-hire notes where the expected number changes materially.
- FOH, BOH, landlord, hotel, food-hall, or centre handover notes where responsibility is shared.
- Review log showing changes after layout, opening-hours, terrace, or private-hire updates.
Related resources
Martyn's Law resources for Restaurants
- Martyn's Law
Martyn's Law: Does Your Venue Meet the 200-Person Threshold?
How to calculate whether a venue meets the 200-person capacity threshold under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025.
7 min read - Martyn's Law
Martyn's Law: The Statutory Guidance Is Out
The Home Office has published the section 27 statutory guidance, and the SIA's enforcement guidance is open for comment until 12 June. What the document settles, and what still has to wait until commencement.
2 min read - Martyn's Law
Martyn's Law: The Commencement Clock Has Started
The first commencement order under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. What S.I. 2026/320 does and does not trigger.
3 min read
Martyn's Law questions for Restaurants
Do restaurant covers decide Martyn's Law scope?
No. Covers are one input. The assessment includes all people reasonably expected to be present at the same time, including staff and relevant non-seated areas.
Do delivery riders count?
It depends on the setup. If people are expected to be present in connection with the premises at the same time, record how you treated them and why.
Does a terrace or courtyard count?
It can if it forms part of the premises and is used with the restaurant. Record whether it is included and what peak assumptions you used.
Does standard tier require a formal terrorism risk assessment?
No. Standard tier requires appropriate public protection procedures and staff awareness. A documented scope and procedure record is still useful evidence.
Are private dining rooms ignored?
No. If they form part of the premises and contribute to the expected number present at the same time, include them in the assessment.
We are inside a hotel or shopping centre. Is it the landlord's responsibility?
Not necessarily. A restaurant unit can be a qualifying premises in its own right if it meets the threshold, while the wider hotel or centre may also have duties. Record the coordination position rather than assuming the landlord covers you.
Is Martyn's Law in force yet?
No. The Act received Royal Assent in April 2025 with an implementation period of at least 24 months, and duties are expected no earlier than spring 2027. The guidance is clear enough to start recording scope, procedures, awareness, and reviews now.
We come out below 200. Is there anything to do?
If your peak number stays under 200 you likely have no Martyn's Law duty yet. Keep a short one-page record of how you reached that figure: your seating, terrace, private-dining and staff assumptions, plus a review date. That lets you show your working and revisit it if you grow, add events, or extend the terrace.
We mainly need help with food safety and EHO, not Martyn's Law. Can Duty Room help?
Yes. Most restaurants come to Duty Room for everyday food-safety and EHO readiness, and Martyn's Law records sit alongside that in the same place. See the Food Safety area for what that covers.
Official sources
Other premises types
Compare another Martyn's Law scenario
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Hotels
Rooms, events, departments, night operations, and evidence across mixed-use hotels.
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Pubs and bars
Big-match peaks, beer gardens, door teams, function rooms, and staff-awareness records.
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Exhibition and conference venues
Venue, organiser, exhibitor and contractor handovers in one evidence trail.
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Cinemas
Staggered showtimes, packed foyers, and who is in the building at once.
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Community venues and halls
Recurring hires, volunteers, and the committee minute behind the call.
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Music Venues
A full room with the lights down, plus crew and security working it.
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Places of Worship
Service peaks, the place-of-worship rule, and volunteer awareness.
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Shops and retail
Peak footfall, seasonal staff, and surge days like Black Friday, not annual totals.
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Sports Grounds
Match-day counts and the access-control facts that set the tier.
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Theatres
Seated houses, foyers, backstage crew, and evacuating mid-performance.
Keep Martyn's Law procedures, staff awareness, and evidence in one place.
Duty Room is operational compliance software: workflows, checklists, and evidence. It is not a substitute for professional legal, regulatory, or compliance advice. You are responsible for understanding and meeting the obligations that apply to your business.