Does Martyn's Law apply to taxi licensing?
Short answer: no. Longer answer: it will still change where your drivers can pick up.
It regulates premises and events, not vehicles
Nothing in it changes taxi, private hire or pedicab licensing. No new licence condition. No change to plate, badge, disc or signage. Nothing to buy.
What it does not require
Worth stating first, because the sales approaches have started
- Not counter-terrorism training as a licence condition.
- Not compliance products or consultancy.
- No change to plate, badge, disc or signage.
- Not a reason to review your conditions at all.
An authority may add ACT awareness training under its existing conditions powers - a local choice, not an obligation under this Act. The Home Office's own myth-buster material says those in scope should be able to comply without buying specialist services.
What the Act does
Two tiers, by capacity
Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. Those responsible for qualifying publicly accessible premises and events must prepare for a terrorist attack, and larger premises must do more. The duty sits with whoever controls the premises.
| Tier | Capacity | What is required |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 200-799 | Procedures only - evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, communication. No physical measures. |
| Enhanced | 800 or more | As standard, plus monitoring, control of movement in and out, vehicle barriers, parking restrictions and vehicle checks. |
Why licensing is untouched
A vehicle is neither premises nor an event, so nobody is a duty holder in respect of one, and nothing in the Act reaches the 1847, 1976 or 1998 Acts, the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, or conditions made under them. A booking office would need a qualifying use and 200 people present at once, which in practice does not arise. Airports, national rail and underground are excluded outright, so the largest rank locations are not caught either.
How it still reaches taxis
Second-hand, through the venues
Enhanced-tier premises - stadiums, arenas, large hotels, conference centres - will be controlling how people and vehicles move.
- Pick-up and set-down moved further from entrances.
- Accreditation or pre-booking for on-site access. A venue may lawfully restrict access to its own land, hackney carriages included.
- Driver identity checks and vehicle searches at gates on event days.
- Vehicles held or turned away during a lockdown, standard tier included.
Where a rank sits matters. Forecourts, car parks and internal access roads are part of the premises and inherit the venue's measures. A rank on the adopted highway does not.
Where licensing gets drawn in
Not a duty holder, but the body left making it work
- A relocated drop-off may mean making or varying a rank order under s.63 of the 1976 Act.
- Safety Advisory Groups are where venue security plans and taxi arrangements get reconciled, earlier than usual.
Four steps before commencement
- Find who owns Martyn's Law for the council's own estate - halls, leisure centres, museums over 200 - so enquiries can be redirected.
- List qualifying venues with significant taxi movement and ask whether rank changes are being designed now. Design stage is when a rank position can still be influenced.
- Raise it at the Safety Advisory Group, so security and taxi provision are considered together.
- Brief the trade honestly. Not a new requirement, but access will change at some venues.
Where things stand
- Home Office section 27 statutory guidance published 15 April 2026.
- SIA section 12 enforcement guidance consultation closed 12 June 2026; final guidance expected in the autumn.
- Commencement signalled for spring 2027. No duty to comply until then.
- The notification portal is still being built. Qualifying premises then get three months to notify.
Scope. Taxi and private hire licensing in England and Wales under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. London operates under the Metropolitan Public Carriage Act 1869 and separate provisions. General information for licensing authorities, not legal advice and not a compliance product. Refer to the Home Office section 27 statutory guidance, the SIA's published material and ProtectUK.
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