Dates and enforcement
You'll see plenty of confident dates for Martyn's Law, and a lot of them are wrong. Here's what has happened so far, what's still to come, and what the regulator can do once it starts.
Enforcement is expected in spring 2027. April 2027 is the earliest it can begin, because the Government committed to at least 24 months from Royal Assent. Nobody is taking enforcement action before then.
What has already happened
| When | What |
|---|---|
| May 2017 | The Manchester Arena attack. Martyn Hett was one of twenty-two people killed. |
| 2021 to 2024 | Consultation, a draft Bill, pre-legislative scrutiny, and a change of government. The Bill was reintroduced and passed. |
| 3 April 2025 | Royal Assent. The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 becomes law, with a commitment to at least 24 months before it takes effect. |
| 15 April 2026 | Home Office statutory guidance published, with accessible versions and three supplementary documents added up to 18 May. This is what tells a responsible person what's expected of them. |
| During 2026 | The SIA consulted on its section 12 guidance, covering investigation and enforcement powers. The consultation has closed. |
| 6 August 2026 | The guidance was corrected. A correction slip changed who holds the duty in a leased pub — from the brewery to the tenant. Why that matters to a mixed estate. |
What's still to come
- Final SIA section 12 guidance. Expected in autumn 2026. Until it's out, nobody can tell you exactly how the regulator will behave.
- The commencement regulations. The Act has to be switched on by secondary legislation, and that sets the actual date.
- The SIA's own readiness. The regulator has said it expects to be ready by early spring 2027.
If someone gives you a precise commencement date today, they're guessing. If they tell you enforcement has already started, they're wrong.
The work takes longer than you'd think, mainly because it's spread across every site. Writing procedures takes an afternoon. Getting every site to use them, and having evidence that they do, takes a couple of rounds of people joining and leaving. Start the month before commencement and your records will be a month old the first time anyone looks at them.
What the SIA can do
The Security Industry Authority is the regulator. It already licenses the private security industry, so it's an established body, but Martyn's Law adds a huge number of premises to what it covers.
- Information notices. Requiring you to produce what you have.
- Compliance notices. Requiring you to do something by a set date.
- Restriction notices. Enhanced tier premises and qualifying events only. These limit the use of premises or stop an event continuing.
- Monetary penalties. Up to £10,000 at standard tier, plus up to £500 a day while a contravention continues. Much more at enhanced tier, calculated against turnover.
The SIA has said consistently that it'll start from advice and guidance rather than penalties. That's reassuring if you're making a real effort. You'll still want something to show them when they ask.
What being asked will look like
Don't picture a raid. For standard tier, expect a request to produce your public protection procedures and evidence that your staff know them. The procedures are rarely the problem. The staff evidence is, because it goes out of date between the day you write it and the day someone asks.
Whatever the commencement date turns out to be, the estate view counts down the time you have left. If you have several hundred sites, each needing its own named responsible person, it's less time than it looks.
Dates on this page reflect what was published as at October 2026 and will be updated as commencement regulations and final SIA guidance appear. Check the primary sources before relying on any of it.
Primary sources: the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, the statutory guidance and its revision history, understanding Martyn's Law and the SIA's role as regulator, and ProtectUK.