Design it in advance.
Make a message for each of your procedures, such as evacuate, invacuate or lockdown, in portrait and landscape. You write the words, so they match your plan.
Martyn’s Law
When it matters.
Your screens speak up.
Emergency messages for Martyn’s Law. Design them in advance, send one to a venue or your whole network, and BOLT screens show it full screen straight away.
The law
Be ready.
Tell people what to do.
Martyn’s Law, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, is expected to come into force in spring 2027. It applies to premises where 200 or more people may be present at the same time, and the Security Industry Authority will regulate it.
Every qualifying venue needs procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication: getting the right information to the people inside. In a shopping centre, a station or a stadium, the screens are where people are already looking.
Read the SIA’s guidanceHow it works
Written calmly.
Sent in a few clicks.
You decide what each message says long before you need it. On the day, you pick the message, pick the places and confirm.
Stored on the screens.
Each message goes to the screens as soon as it’s published and stays on them, so there’s nothing to download when it matters.
Send it in a few clicks.
Choose the message and the places, check the screen count, then send. The adverts stop and the message fills the screen.
Clear it when it’s over.
One button brings the screens back to their normal schedule. Every send and every clear is in the audit log.
On the screen
Nothing else plays.
Until you say so.
The player and the console were built together, so an emergency message is handled by the screen itself, not bolted on.
Stops the advert
An emergency message interrupts whatever is playing, even mid-advert. While it’s showing, nothing else plays.
Wakes sleeping screens
A screen that’s in standby outside opening hours switches on to show it, then goes back to standby when it’s cleared.
Right way up
Each message has a portrait and a landscape version, and every screen shows the one that fits it.
Landlords can send
Landlords can design their own messages and send them to the screens at their own venues. Operators can send to any venue, or the whole network.
You see who has it
Before you send, you see how many screens are ready. Once it’s sent, each screen reports back when the message is actually on screen.
Stays up until cleared
There’s no timer. A screen that restarts shows the message again, and a screen that comes back online picks it up.
What is Martyn’s Law?
Martyn’s Law is the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. It asks those responsible for qualifying premises and events in the UK to be prepared for a terrorist attack, so that people are better protected. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the regulator.
When does Martyn’s Law come into force?
The Act received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025 with an implementation period of at least 24 months. The SIA expects it to come into force in spring 2027 and will confirm the date.
Which venues does it apply to?
The standard tier covers premises where 200 to 799 people may be present at the same time. The enhanced tier covers premises and events where 800 or more may be present. Childcare, education settings and places of worship stay in the standard tier.
What does the standard tier ask for?
Procedures, so far as is reasonably practicable, for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication: making sure information is provided to people at the premises. Emergency messages on your screens are one way to give people that information.
Does Bolt make my venue Martyn’s Law compliant?
No product can do that on its own. Compliance rests with the responsible person and their procedures. Bolt’s emergency messages support those procedures by putting clear instructions on your screens quickly.
Do the screens play a sound or an alarm?
No. Emergency messages are visual only. They don’t replace a fire alarm, a public address system or staff instructions.
What happens to a screen that’s offline?
Messages are stored on the screens in advance, but sending one needs a connection. A screen that’s offline when the message is sent shows it as soon as it reconnects.
Which plan includes emergency messages?
Every plan. Broadcasts, including emergency messages, are a standard feature of Bolt, not a BOLT-on, so there’s nothing extra to switch on or pay for.
Which screens can show emergency messages?
BOLT screens running the latest player. Before you send, Bolt shows how many screens are ready and flags any that need a player update.
Getting ready for 2027
Part of your plan.
On every ready screen.
Talk to us about emergency messages on your network, and how they fit the procedures you’re putting in place.
Talk to the team