Does Martyn's Law apply to care homes?
A care home is in scope of Martyn's Law only if it is publicly accessible and 200 or more people may reasonably be expected to be present at the same time. A typical residential home is a largely private setting whose routine population rarely approaches 200, so most individual care homes are likely to be out of scope. The honest step is the same as for any venue: apply the test to your busiest realistic moments, counting everyone, and minute your conclusion. If a setting genuinely is in scope, it falls in the standard tier — notify, four procedures, people who know them — with no physical measures and nothing to buy. The law is expected to commence in Spring 2027.
Short answer: for most individual care homes, the law probably doesn't apply — but it's worth a few minutes to check properly rather than just take that on trust. The honest version is below.
If you manage or run a care home and you've seen "healthcare" mentioned alongside Martyn's Law, it's reasonable to wonder whether you're caught. Let's work through the actual test.
What the law is really testing
Martyn's Law applies to qualifying premises that are publicly accessible and where 200 or more people may reasonably be expected to be present at the same time. Both parts matter, and both have to be met.
"Healthcare" is one of the broad use-categories the Act lists, so a care setting isn't excluded on the face of it. But that listing doesn't settle anything by itself. The two tests — public access, and 200 people at once — are what decide it.
Being a "healthcare" use doesn't put you in scope. It only means the use-type isn't carved out. You're in scope only if your premises are publicly accessible and 200 or more people may reasonably be expected at the same time. Miss either test and you're out.
Why most care homes are likely out of scope
A typical residential care home is, first and foremost, a private, residential setting. People live there. Public access is limited — visitors come to see particular residents, not to wander in off the street — and the routine population of residents, staff and visitors rarely comes anywhere near 200 people at the same time.
On both counts, the ordinary working day of most homes falls below the line. That's why the likely answer for most individual homes is no, the law doesn't apply — not because care homes are exempt, but because they don't meet the test.
An out-of-scope conclusion is a perfectly good outcome. The point isn't to find a way into the law; it's to reach an honest answer and be able to show how you reached it.
When it could be worth a closer look
There are situations where the answer is less obvious and worth checking carefully:
- Large or complex sites, where the everyday number of people present is higher than a small home's.
- Occasions with genuine public access and big numbers — an open day, a summer fair, a fundraising event that members of the public attend in large numbers.
If one of your real busiest moments could reasonably reach 200 people — counting everyone present, residents, staff, visitors and the public alike — then it's worth working through the test properly rather than assuming either way.
How to check, and why to write it down
The method is the same as for any venue, and it's the one we set out in full in our guide on applying the 200 test:
- Identify your busiest realistic moments — the ordinary peak, plus any event days when the public attend in numbers.
- Put honest figures on them, counting everyone present at the same time, not the building's theoretical capacity.
- Decide: is this premises publicly accessible, and could 200 or more people reasonably be expected at the same time? If not on both counts, you're out of scope.
- Record your reasoning, whichever way it goes, and review it yearly. A one-page note — "we considered Martyn's Law on [date]; our busiest occasion is X (≈Y people); we concluded we are below the threshold and will review annually" — is exactly what shows you've thought about it. If your activities change, the annual review catches it.
If a setting genuinely is in scope
If your checks put you over the line, you'd be in the standard tier, and it asks less than the headlines suggest. Three duties, expected to commence Spring 2027:
- Notify the SIA once the regulator's system opens. It's free and online; there's nothing to submit today.
- Have four workable procedures — evacuation, invacuation (moving people somewhere safer inside), lockdown and communication — built from the emergency planning you already do.
- Make sure your people know them — the staff who actually run the building day to day.
There are no physical security measures required and nothing to buy at standard tier. We've set out what it all involves in our plain-English guide to the standard tier.
A note on larger and more complex healthcare settings
Bigger or more complex settings — a hospital, for instance — can sit in a different place, and the right course there isn't to generalise from a care-home answer. For those, work from the official statutory guidance, which is the authoritative source on how the tests apply to your particular premises.
What to do this year
- Apply the public-access and 200 tests to your busiest realistic moments, counting everyone.
- If you're out of scope — as most individual homes are likely to be — minute it, diarise an annual review, and you're done.
- If you're in scope, draft the four procedures from your existing emergency arrangements, brief your people, and keep a simple record.
Still unsure where your setting lands? Start with the free scope checker — it walks you through both tests in a few minutes, with no sign-up.
Common questions
Does Martyn's Law apply to care homes?
For most individual residential care homes, probably not. The law applies to publicly accessible premises where 200 or more people may reasonably be expected to be present at the same time. A typical care home is a largely private, residential setting whose routine population — residents, staff and visitors — rarely approaches 200 at once, so most are likely to be out of scope. The honest step is to apply the test to your own busiest moments and record your conclusion.
Healthcare is listed as a use the Act covers — doesn't that put us in scope automatically?
No. 'Healthcare' is one of the broad use-categories the Act mentions, so a care setting isn't excluded on the face of it. But that listing doesn't decide anything on its own — the public-access and 200-simultaneous tests still govern. A home that isn't publicly accessible, or where 200 people are never reasonably expected at the same time, is out of scope regardless of the use-category.
When could a care home actually be in scope?
Where there's genuine public access and large numbers at the same time — think a large site, or an occasion the public attend in big numbers, such as an open day, a summer fair or a fundraising event. If any of your realistic busiest moments could reasonably reach 200 people counting everyone, it's worth working through the test properly rather than assuming either way.
What would we have to do if our home is in scope?
It would fall in the standard tier: notify the SIA once its system opens, have four workable procedures (evacuation, invacuation — sheltering safely inside — lockdown and communication), and make sure your people know them. There are no physical security measures required and nothing to buy at standard tier; the government's guidance is free.
Not sure? Check in three minutes, no sign-up
Our free scope checker walks you through the public-access and 200 tests for your setting. And if you'd like one plain-English email a month between now and commencement, join the countdown list.