Guide
The notification requirement: what venues must tell the SIA, and when
The first thing Martyn’s Law will actually ask of every qualifying venue is a notification. The rules are already law: the Notification Requirements Regulations 2026 were made on 9 July 2026 and fix the deadlines, the information and who may submit. Here is what they say.
Last verified against SI 2026/793 and the Home Office guidance of 14 July 2026, on 2 September 2026 · Reviewed fortnightly
Where the rules come from
Section 9 of the Act creates the duty to notify the Security Industry Authority; the detail lives in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) (Notification Requirements) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/793), supported by Home Office guidance published on 14 July 2026. The regulations take effect when the notification duty itself commences, expected in spring 2027. Notification is not an application and nothing is approved: it tells the regulator who is responsible for which premises.
The deadlines
| Situation | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Premises already qualifying at commencement | Within three months of commencement day, or 28 days from becoming the responsible person, whichever is later |
| Becoming, or ceasing to be, the responsible person later | 28 days |
| Notified information becomes inaccurate | 28 days for premises |
| Qualifying events | 14-day clocks throughout: from the date the event is first publicised, or from commencement day for events already publicised by then, and 14 days for corrections and ceasing to be responsible |
The three-month window is the crunch. Every premises in scope on day one shares the same window, and the greatest expected attendance figure must be submitted with the method used to calculate it. Venues that assemble their scope and attendance evidence now turn the window into an administrative task rather than a scramble.
What the notification contains
The Schedule to SI 2026/793 sets the information. For all notifications: the responsible person’s identity, including registered and trading names and company or charity numbers; the identity of anyone else with control of the premises and their relationship; the names and contact details of anyone subject to the duty to coordinate with the responsible person, where premises form part of other qualifying premises; the premises address and its Schedule 1 use; and the greatest number of individuals reasonably expected to be present at the same time, together with how that figure was calculated. Enhanced duty premises and qualifying events add the designated senior individual’s details, including the date of designation. Information about relevant licences and safety certificates is asked for as information; the licence documents themselves are not submitted.
Who may submit: the authorised submitter rules
Regulation 4 permits notification by the responsible person or a person authorised to act on their behalf; the Home Office guidance gives an employee, an agent or a consultant as examples. Where someone else submits, regulation 5 and the Schedule require the notification to include the submitter’s name and role, relationship to the responsible person, contact details and a confirmation of their authority. Two consequences follow. Practically, a venue can delegate the mechanics of notification. Legally, accountability does not move: the responsible person remains the person the Act binds, whoever presses submit, so the written authorisation itself becomes a record worth holding.
How submission works
Notifications are made electronically in the form required by the SIA, through its online portal unless the SIA directs otherwise. The SIA has said it will invite volunteers to test the portal from early 2027, with general availability effectively at commencement. Until then nothing can be submitted, and nothing needs to be: the preparation that matters now is the information itself and the evidence behind the attendance figure.
One caution about names. The SIA’s own notification system is widely referred to as the Martyn’s Law portal. Several commercial products use similar names. Only the SIA’s system discharges the statutory duty; no third-party product is, or can be, the official portal.
What to prepare now
- A written Scope and Tier Assessment, so the use and tier you notify are defensible.
- The attendance calculation and its method, with the supporting evidence filed.
- The responsible person’s details, and a register of everyone else with control, including anyone subject to the coordination duty where premises form part of other qualifying premises.
- At enhanced tier, the senior individual designation, with its date.
- If an agent or platform will submit for you, the written authorisation.
Every one of those maps to a record in the documents checklist, which sets out all of them tier by tier with what each is for.
Premises Portal is being built to hold this information, keep it accurate, and produce the notification data the day the window opens. Coming 2027. Meanwhile, the venue guide covers the wider duties.