The standard tier: four procedures that work on the night
The standard duty is modest by design. What matters is that the procedures fit your building and your staff actually know them.
Standard tier premises (200–799 people) must notify the SIA and have procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communicating with people on site, so far as is reasonably practicable. No equipment is required and nothing is submitted to the SIA beyond the notification. The maximum penalty is £10,000.
What are the four procedures?
Evacuation
Getting people out and away from a threat — which may be a different route and a different meeting point from your fire plan, because the danger might be outside.
Invacuation
Bringing people inside, or further inside, to a safer part of the building away from glazing and entrances, when leaving would be more dangerous.
Lockdown
Stopping an attacker getting in or moving through the building: who locks which doors, shutters and gates, and how quickly.
Communication
How staff raise the alarm and tell visitors what to do — a code phrase, PA, radios or simply who shouts what — so people act without panic.
What do good procedures look like?
- Short. A page or two a staff member can read in five minutes, not a binder.
- Named roles. Who locks the front door, who checks the toilets, who calls 999 — by role, with a fallback when that person is off.
- Different from the fire plan where it should be. In a fire you go out to the assembly point; in an attack the assembly point might be the danger. Invacuation rooms, lockdown doors and a code phrase are the new parts.
- Tested. A tabletop run-through with staff, using the free ACT in a Box exercise, finds the gaps before a real night does.
- Dated and reviewed. When the layout, opening hours or staffing changes, the procedures change.
See the worked example for a 350-capacity pub and the checklist.
What we do for standard-tier premises
From your floor plan, photos and a short phone video walk-round we confirm your tier in writing, draft the four procedures, go through them with you on a video call, and brief your staff. For premises in South and West Wales we can do it on site, and combine it with a fire risk assessment in one visit.
Before you pay anyone: the Home Office says premises do not need to buy consultancy to meet the standard tier, and its guidance, the SIA’s guidance and the ProtectUK training are free. Neither the Home Office nor the SIA endorses any provider, including us. The legal responsibility stays with the person responsible for the premises; we help with the work, we do not take the duty off you.
Want a second pair of eyes on it?
Send the venue type, the most people you would expect in at once, and how many sites you run. We will tell you which tier you look to be in and whether the free route is enough before quoting anything.
Common questions
Do I need to buy equipment for the standard tier?
No. The standard tier requires procedures, not equipment. The Home Office describes the costs as mainly time.
Do I have to send my procedures to the SIA?
No. Standard tier premises notify the SIA but do not submit their procedures. Keep them ready to show if the SIA asks.
What is invacuation?
Moving people inside, or further inside, to a safer area when leaving the building would be more dangerous, for example if the threat is outside the entrance.