With the introduction of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, widely known as Martyn’s Law, many organisations are now searching for practical ways to understand their duties and improve preparedness. NEBOSH has developed a suite of qualifications to support UK-based organisations in understanding and complying with those duties. Both the NEBOSH National Certificate in Protecting Standard Duty Premises from Terrorism and the NEBOSH National Certificate in Protecting Enhanced Duty Premises and Events from Terrorism were created with that purpose in mind.    

For employers, venue managers, event organisers, facilities teams and health and safety professionals, these qualifications help turn a developing legal requirement into something more practical: understanding the threat, recognising vulnerabilities, planning proportionate responses, and building a stronger security culture. Both courses are built around terrorism awareness, public protection procedures, and organisational readiness, but they are not the same course and they are not aimed at the same type of premises.

You can also out more about each course by clicking the links below:

Why Have These Qualifications Been Created?

The simple answer is that Martyn’s Law places legal duties on certain publicly accessible premises and events to consider the threat of terrorism, take steps to reduce vulnerability, and help keep people safe should an attack occur. NEBOSH states that its terrorism qualifications were developed specifically to support organisations in understanding and complying with these duties.    

That matters because many organisations searching for Martyn’s Law training, counter terrorism awareness training, terrorism risk assessment training, or premises security qualifications are not looking to become specialist security professionals. They are trying to understand what the legislation means for their site, their people, and their responsibilities. NEBOSH makes clear that these qualifications are intended for health and safety professionals and other workers involved in managing in-scope premises and events, rather than seasoned security practitioners with extensive operational experience.    

In other words, these courses exist to bridge the gap between legal duty and practical action.

What Purpose Do These Qualifications Serve?

These qualifications serve several clear purposes.

First, they help organisations understand the scope of Martyn’s Law and where their premises or event may sit within it. Both syllabuses cover the nature of terrorism, the legal framework, threat monitoring, site vulnerabilities, public protection procedures, and security culture.    

Second, they help candidates apply familiar occupational safety and health principles to terrorism-related risk. Both courses refer to the relevance of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 in the context of terrorism-related incidents.    

Third, they support better organisational preparedness. That includes understanding threat information, responding to incidents, coordinating communication, considering trauma first aid, and promoting a positive security culture. The enhanced qualification goes further by covering public protection measures, documenting compliance, and business continuity and recovery.    

So while these are clearly compliance-relevant qualifications, they are also practical terrorism preparedness qualifications for organisations that need structure, clarity and a proportionate response.

The Main Difference: Standard Duty Vs Enhanced Duty

The most important difference is the type of premises or event each qualification is designed for.

The NEBOSH National Certificate in Protecting Standard Duty Premises from Terrorism is for those managing standard tier premises, which NEBOSH defines as certain publicly accessible premises where it is reasonable to expect between 200 and 799 individuals may be present at the same time.  

The NEBOSH National Certificate in Protecting Enhanced Duty Premises and Events from Terrorism is for those responsible for enhanced tier premises and qualifying events, where it is reasonable to expect 800 or more individuals may be present at the same time. NEBOSH notes that stricter legal duties apply because of the potentially greater impact of an attack.  

That threshold difference is the reason the two qualifications are separated. One is focused on the needs of standard duty premises. The other is built for a higher-risk and more demanding compliance environment involving enhanced duty premises and qualifying events.

The Course Content: Where They Overlap

There is a strong shared core between the two qualifications.

Both cover:

• the nature of terrorism and the legal framework
• identifying and monitoring potential threats
• understanding terrorist threats and site vulnerabilities
• implementing public protection procedures
• developing a strong security culture    

That shared content makes sense. Whether a premises falls into standard duty or enhanced duty, organisations still need to understand the nature of the threat, interpret credible information, recognise vulnerabilities, and think about reasonably practicable protective action.

This is one reason why these qualifications will appeal to people searching terms such as Martyn’s Law course, terrorism awareness qualification, counter terrorism training for venues, and public protection procedures training.

The Course Content: What The Enhanced Duty Qualification Adds

The enhanced duty qualification goes significantly further.

Alongside the shared topics, the Enhanced Duty course includes:

• implementing public protection measures
• documenting compliance with the 2025 Act
• business continuity and recovery    

It also includes specific content on selecting and justifying layered protective security measures, using established security models such as Deter–Detect–Delay–Deny, and documenting assessments to identify vulnerabilities, evaluate risk and prioritise control measures.  

That makes the enhanced qualification much more than a basic awareness course. It is designed for organisations that need a deeper, broader and more evidence-led approach to terrorism preparedness and compliance. If someone is searching for enhanced duty Martyn’s Law training, event terrorism qualification, or protective security training for large venues, this is usually the more relevant route.

Course Length And Assessment Differences

The difference in scope is reflected in both duration and assessment.

The Standard Duty qualification is based on 6 taught hours plus a 30-minute online multiple-format assessment, with 20 compulsory questions and a pass mark of 60% or higher.    

The Enhanced Duty qualification is based on 16 taught hours, around 3 hours of private study, and a 60-minute online multiple-format assessment, with 30 compulsory questions including 8 mini-scenario questions and the same pass mark of 60% or higher.    

Both are closed-book assessments and both are available within a 24-hour monthly assessment window.    

From a practical point of view, that means the Standard Duty qualification is a more compact route for in-scope premises with lower thresholds, while the Enhanced Duty qualification is designed for organisations with broader obligations and more complex preparedness requirements.

Who Should Choose The Standard Duty Qualification?

The NEBOSH National Certificate in Protecting Standard Duty Premises from Terrorism is likely to be the better fit where your organisation manages a publicly accessible premises expected to hold 200 to 799 people at the same time and needs a practical, proportionate understanding of Martyn’s Law duties.  

This may include employers responsible for:

• hospitality venues
• leisure settings
• visitor-facing buildings
• community premises
• public-facing workplaces
• smaller venues that still fall within the scope of the legislation

It is especially useful for health and safety professionals, facilities teams and operational managers who need to support compliance without stepping into specialist operational security roles.  

Who Should Choose The Enhanced Duty Qualification?

The NEBOSH National Certificate in Protecting Enhanced Duty Premises and Events from Terrorism is the better choice where your organisation manages enhanced duty premises or qualifying events with expected occupancy of 800 or more people.  

This is more likely to suit:

• larger venues
• major visitor attractions
• event organisers
• organisations hosting qualifying public events
• operations and compliance teams dealing with larger-scale public protection responsibilities

Because it includes public protection measures, documentation of compliance, and business continuity and recovery, it is a stronger fit for organisations searching for event security training, Martyn’s Law enhanced duty qualification, or terrorism compliance training for large venues and events.  

Why These Qualifications Matter For Health And Safety Professionals

One of the most interesting features of both qualifications is how clearly they align with existing health and safety thinking.

Martyn’s Law introduces ideas that are already familiar to many health and safety professionals: risk assessment, reasonable practicability, planning, coordination, communication, competence, and continuous improvement. Both qualifications reflect that overlap.    

That means these are not just security courses in the narrow sense. They are also useful qualifications for health and safety teams who are now being asked to support their organisations in understanding terrorism-related risk in publicly accessible environments.

For that reason, they are likely to become increasingly relevant for people searching online for:

• Martyn’s Law training
• terrorism preparedness training
• NEBOSH terrorism qualification
• terrorism risk assessment course
• public protection procedures training
• protective security qualification
• counter terrorism awareness training for premises and events

Final Thoughts: Which One Is Right?

If your organisation needs Martyn’s Law training, the starting point is not which course sounds better. It is which legal category your premises or event falls into.

Choose the Standard Duty qualification if your premises is in scope and reasonably expects 200 to 799 people at the same time. Choose the Enhanced Duty qualification if you are dealing with 800 or more people, or with qualifying events that fall into the enhanced tier.    

Both qualifications have been created to help organisations understand the legislation, improve preparedness, and protect people more effectively. The real difference is the depth, breadth and operational demand of the duty involved.

As awareness of Martyn’s Law grows, these qualifications are likely to become an important part of how organisations demonstrate understanding, build resilience and strengthen public protection in practice.

Suggested Call To Action

If you are unsure whether your premises falls under standard duty or enhanced duty, speak to the Acadame team about the most suitable Martyn’s Law training route for your organisation.