Does Martyn's Law require a PA system?

What does the Act actually say about equipment?

Nothing. Section 5 of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 requires the person responsible for qualifying premises to have "appropriate public protection procedures" in place, so far as is reasonably practicable (s.5(1)). The four procedures are for evacuating people, moving them to a place of less risk, preventing entry or exit, and "providing information to individuals on the premises" (s.5(3)(a) to (d)). The word "equipment" does not appear in section 5.

The statutory guidance is explicit: "There is no statutory requirement in the Act to make any physical alterations or to purchase specific equipment relating to putting public protection procedures in place" (Home Office statutory guidance, 15 April 2026, para 7.25). It goes on to say that in some circumstances a physical alteration may be reasonably practicable, and gives changing how doors are locked or moving shutter controls as examples. Third-party products and services are not mandatory either (para 6.7), and nor is paid training (para 7.55). If a supplier tells you Martyn's Law requires their system, the Home Office guidance says otherwise.

What counts as communication?

The guidance defines the communication procedure as making sure "information is provided to people at the premises or event, alerting them to danger as quickly as possible", with instructions "where it is safe to do so" (para 7.46). It then lists the forms that can take: "verbal communication, signage, posters, briefings and audio broadcasts" (para 7.47), and, for the means of sharing information quickly, "public address systems, loud hailers/megaphones, closed radio systems and alarms could be used at larger premises or events, and more basic forms of alert such as giving loud, clear verbal commands could be used at smaller premises" (para 7.48).

So for a 250-seat restaurant, the duty manager's voice and a prompt card behind the bar can be a legitimate answer, provided staff know their roles, it is written down and it has been walked through (paras 7.8, 7.28, 7.51 and 7.58). The Act does not make that venue buy loudspeakers.

So when does the sound system you already have matter?

In four places the guidance points at the building rather than the paperwork:

1. It asks you to list what you have. The assessment of what is reasonably practicable should include "existing equipment, structures or apparatus that may be used when implementing the procedures (for example, areas that can be easily secured, doors, locks or public address systems)" (para 7.26). A public address (PA) or voice alarm system you already own is part of the answer, whether or not it was bought with terrorism in mind.
2. It asks whether the message will arrive. Larger and more complex premises should consider "where people may be located when information is communicated and whether information will reach them effectively in those areas" (para 7.49). Kitchens, plant rooms and loading bays are where that question usually fails. How to warn back-of-house staff during a lockdown.
3. For larger venues, it asks for different instructions for different procedures. "The instructions communicated for an evacuation procedure should be different to the instructions communicated for a lockdown procedure" (para 7.49). A tone can start an evacuation because everyone knows what it means. It cannot say "move away from the entrance" or "stay where you are and secure the room". Invacuation and lockdown procedures need spoken messages.
4. It uses a public address system as its own example. "A communication procedure (such as an announcement made via a public address system) may be used to alert people that a lockdown procedure should be followed" (para 7.28), and in its standard tier hotel example the duty manager uses the PA system to start an evacuation (para 7.48).

So the more useful question for your venue is less "do we need a PA system" and more "can the system we have say different things to different areas, and does anyone here know how to make it".

PA, voice alarm or fire alarm: which do you have?

In everyday use, "the PA" and "the fire alarm" can mean three different things, and the answer to the question above depends on which one is in the building.

• A public address (PA) system carries announcements and music. It is usually not monitored for faults, may have no battery back-up, and is often switched off out of hours. It can carry a live lockdown announcement if someone is at the microphone and it is on.
• A Public Address Voice Alarm (PAVA) system, often called the voice alarm, is part of the fire alarm installation. It holds pre-recorded messages, is monitored for faults and runs on batteries when the mains fail. The UK code of practice is BS 5839-8:2023. It can hold non-fire messages, but only if they have been recorded and configured.
• A fire alarm with sounders or bells produces tones. Tones have one learned meaning, and it is not "stay where you are". Can a fire alarm make lockdown or invacuation announcements?

Non-fire emergency sound systems have their own standard, BS EN 50849:2017. The Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers (ISCVE) takes the view that a sound system put in to support Martyn's Law procedures should be treated as a sound system for emergency purposes under that standard. That is guidance from a professional body, not a requirement of the Act.

Three checks before anyone sells you anything

1. Ask whoever maintains your sound or alarm system which pre-recorded non-fire messages it holds, and from where they can be selected. If you're not sure whether your current system can broadcast pre-recorded spoken messages, that's worth confirming before any procedure is written.
2. Have a colleague start a message while you stand in the noisiest back-of-house room at its working noise level, outside public hours if the test uses the sound system. Note whether you could follow the instruction, not just hear a noise.
3. Ask whether a visitor could tell your security message from the fire alarm. If the honest answer is no, the two will be confused on the day.

If any of the three comes back as "don't know", that's useful in itself: it's the finding to act on. A communication assessment answers all three in one visit: whether your existing PA or voice alarm can deliver distinct, zoned evacuation, invacuation and lockdown messages to every area, including back of house, and what to fix if it cannot. If you want a straight answer on what your existing system can and cannot do, ask us to look at it.

Ask about a communication assessment

Not sure of your tier yet? Use the ten-question checker.

Frequently asked questions

Is a PA system the same as a voice alarm?
No. A public address (PA) system carries announcements and music and is usually unmonitored. A Public Address Voice Alarm (PAVA) system is part of the fire alarm, holds pre-recorded messages, monitors its own loudspeaker circuits and has battery back-up. The code of practice for voice alarm systems is BS 5839-8:2023. A venue may have one, both or neither.

Can staff giving verbal instructions count as our communication procedure under Martyn's Law?
Yes. The Home Office guidance names "giving loud, clear verbal commands" as a form of alert that could be used at smaller premises (para 7.48). With no system that can carry a message, every procedure rests on people: staff voices, word of mouth and physical marshalling. For a small venue that can be a legitimate answer, but it should be a documented decision with named roles, not an accident of the building.

Will the SIA tell us which equipment to buy?
No. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has said: "Neither the SIA nor the Home Office is able to endorse or recommend specific companies or services for compliance with this legislation." ProtectUK adds that only the SIA can determine compliance. Any company that claims its product is "Martyn's Law approved" is making a claim no regulator has made.

Does a standard tier venue have to write its procedures down?
No legal duty: section 7's documentation requirement applies to the enhanced tier. But the guidance says standard tier premises "should prepare" a document setting out their procedures, and warns that it "may also be difficult to demonstrate compliance with the Act" if the procedures "are not documented in some form" (para 7.32). It also says a written procedure that could not be carried out rapidly and effectively "is not sufficient" (para 7.8). Writing it down is the more straightforward part. Testing it is what shows it works.

Where this comes from

Quotations from the Act and the Home Office statutory guidance are Crown copyright, reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

This page is a plain-English guide, not legal advice. Only the SIA can determine compliance, and the terrorism risk assessment remains the venue's own.