When does Martyn’s Law actually start?
The honest answer is that nobody can give you a date, because the government has not set one. Here is exactly what has happened so far, and what to watch for.
This is the question we are asked more than any other, and it is the one most often answered wrongly elsewhere. You will find plenty of pages stating a firm date. As things stand, there isn’t one — and knowing that is genuinely useful, because it means you are not behind.
The short answer
- The duties on premises are not in force yet. Nobody can be inspected or fined under them today.
- The government has said the implementation period will be at least 24 months from Royal Assent, which was 3 April 2025.
- That makes spring 2027 the earliest realistic point — but it is an expectation drawn from “at least 24 months”, not a date anyone has announced.
- The government has said it will give a further update on when the requirements come into force.
What is already in force
A small but real thing has happened: the section of the Act that allows the government to publish statutory guidance was commenced in April 2026, and the statutory guidance itself has been published. That is why there is suddenly a lot to read, and why it feels like something has started.
What has started is the information. The duties themselves — notifying the regulator, having your procedures in place — have not been switched on. Those need a further commencement step, and that step has not happened.
Why “at least 24 months” is not the same as a date
The phrase in the guidance is deliberate. It sets a floor, not a deadline: the government committed to giving premises at least two years from Royal Assent before the duties bite. It did not promise to switch them on the moment those two years elapse.
So “April 2027” is a reasonable planning assumption and a poor factual claim. If a supplier tells you the deadline is a specific day, ask them where that date is published. At the time of writing, it isn’t.
What to watch, and where
Two places will tell you before anybody else does:
- The Security Industry Authority. The SIA is the regulator, and the notification process for standard-tier premises will open through them. When that appears, the duties are close.
- The statutory guidance page on GOV.UK. It carries a “last updated” date, and commencement will be reflected there.
You do not need to check these weekly. Twice a year is plenty, and a diary note for your AGM is the natural home for it.
So should you just wait?
You could, and you would not be doing anything wrong. But there are two unglamorous reasons most committees decide not to.
The first is that the work is small and the rush would not be. Agreeing what you would do if you had to get everyone out, or keep everyone in, is an evening’s conversation. Doing it in a fortnight alongside everyone else in the county, when the notification window opens, is a worse evening.
The second is turnover. The people who know your building — which door sticks, who holds the keys, where the mains switch is — are volunteers, and some of them will have moved on by 2027. Writing it down now is how that knowledge survives them, and that is worth doing whether or not any law ever asks for it.
Not sure which side of the line you are on?
The checker walks you through the same rules in about two minutes. It is free, there is no account, and your answers never leave your browser.
What this does not mean
It does not mean nothing will change, and it does not mean you can ignore it permanently. It means the honest status today is: known duties, no live obligation, no confirmed date. That is a comfortable position to be in, and it is a much better basis for a committee decision than a countdown someone invented.
Common questions
Is Martyn’s Law in force now?
Not the duties on premises. The section allowing statutory guidance to be published was commenced in April 2026 and the guidance is out, but the requirements themselves — notifying the regulator and having procedures in place — have not been commenced. No premises can be penalised under them today.
Is the deadline April 2027?
That is a widely repeated expectation rather than an announced date. The government said the implementation period would be at least 24 months from Royal Assent on 3 April 2025, which puts the earliest realistic point in spring 2027, and said it would provide a further update on commencement. No specific day has been published.
Have we missed anything by not acting yet?
No. There is nothing you were required to have done by now, and no penalty anybody can apply today. If you are only starting to look at this, you are starting at a normal time.
When will we have to notify the SIA?
The notification process opens when the duties commence, and it will run through the Security Industry Authority. Watching the SIA is the single most reliable way to know the timetable has moved.
Should we wait for the date before doing anything?
That is a legitimate choice. Most committees do the thinking earlier anyway, because the work is a couple of evenings and doing it under time pressure alongside everyone else is harder — and because writing down what your volunteers know protects it when they move on.
Where this comes from
Everything above is our plain-English reading of the following. Where we quote a paragraph number, it is from the Home Office statutory guidance. If you want the law itself rather than our summary of it, start with the first link.
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 (c. 10) legislation.gov.uk The Act itself. Royal Assent 3 April 2025.
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: statutory guidance GOV.UK (Home Office) Published April 2026, last updated 18 May 2026. The paragraph numbers quoted in these guides are from this document.
- Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025: overarching factsheet GOV.UK (Home Office) The short version, in the government’s own words.
- Security Industry Authority GOV.UK The regulator for Martyn’s Law. Watch here for the notification process opening.
Last reviewed . Martyn’s Law is not yet in force and the guidance is still developing — if you are reading this long after that date, check the sources above for anything newer.
This is guidance, not a legal determination. Standfast helps you think clearly and get ready. It does not decide your legal position, and nothing on this page is legal advice. If your circumstances are unusual, or a great deal turns on the answer, take advice.