Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
How do you know if you need a DBS check?
MoneyMagpie team
2nd Aug 2019
Here at MoneyMagpie, we like to keep in contact with our readers. One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is from people wondering: “Do I need a DBS check?”
It’s a good question as it’s not always clear who needs one and who doesn’t, particularly when it comes to volunteering, so we’ve put together this handy guide for job hunters and potential employees.
Here is how you can find out if you need a DBS check.
What is a DBS check?
Criminal record checks have been around for some time helping employers to find suitable people to work with children and vulnerable groups. However, this process has become increasingly complicated and lengthy so the government has replaced the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check with the one from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) was established under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and carries out the functions previously undertaken by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) for England and Wales and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The primary role of the DBS is to help employers in England and Wales make recruitment decisions by issuing criminal records checks and to prevent people from working with vulnerable groups who may not be safe to do so.
Amongst these vulnerable groups are children, babies, the elderly, people with learning disabilities of any age or people with other mental health difficulties.
The main function of the DBS check is to provide an answer to the employer or organisation with whom you’re volunteering to the following question: “Do you have any criminal convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings?”
Usually, you only really need a DBS check if you’re planning on working with vulnerable people and children, however other jobs might also demand it and this is becoming more and more common.
A DBS check will determine whether or not an individual is on one of two barred lists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: one bars people from working with children and the other with vulnerable adults.
When a check has been processed by the DBS the individual will receive a DBS certificate illustrating whether they are cleared to work with particular groups.
Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act of 1974, criminals who have served a prison sentence of less than two and a half years and do not re-offend during a set ‘rehabilitation’ period after their release may have their conviction spent, which means it doesn’t show up any more and is no longer relevant when the person is being considered for most jobs. It’s quite complex so you can read more about the DBS filtering system here.
If you have unspent convictions – meaning you are still serving your probationary ‘rehabilitation’ period following sentencing – this can cause issues. However, if this is the case, it’s up to the employer whether this is or isn’t a problem. With work being seen as an essential part of prisoner rehabilitation, this is becoming far less of a barrier in current times. For example, Manchester’s ‘The Clink’ restaurant exclusively hires prisoners from HMP Styal as staff to rehabilitate them.
Do i need a DBS check?
Generally speaking, if you plan on working with or around children or vulnerable people you will need a DBS check. Employers may wish to look at the DBS eligibility guidance list which runs down most roles that are eligible for a check. However, the guidance isn’t comprehensive, and you should contact the DBS directly if you’re unsure.
If you’re the person being checked, your potentially new employer will give you a form to fill in and return to them along with documents proving your identity such as a passport, current driving licence and proof of address. You can find more information on what documents are accepted here.
How do DBS checks work?
Your employers will apply to have a check done on your behalf but then the certificate will be sent to you, not your employer. These checks can take up to 8 weeks to complete from filling out the form, so if you’re working in a care role it’s important to bear this in mind. You won’t be able to start working till the check is completed.
Depending on the level of the check, the cost varies with a standard check costing £26 and an enhanced check costing £44. Some employers will ask you to pay these fees. However the norm is for employers to pay these costs.
However, if you’re applying for a DBS for a voluntary role, there are no associated fees regardless of the level of check needed.
Employers will only arrange a DBS check on a successful job applicant. If the applicant is found to be unsuitable, the job offer can be withdrawn so save yourself the time and stress and be honest on your applications!
These are the basic steps for an employer who wants to perform a DBS check:
- Get the application form from DBS or your umbrella body.
- Ask the candidate to fill in the application form (N.B. make sure you have everything exact in this form because if you get any of your former addresses wrong it will be sent back you will have to go through the whole thing again – it’s very annoying!)
- Send the application form to your umbrella body or DBS.
- If your organisation is registered with DBS the counter signatory has to sign the form. DBS will send you a certificate.
What is the Disclosure and Barring Service?
So now you have a better idea of what a DBS check means to you but you’re still thinking you want more detail. Well never fear, Money Magpie’s here to oblige.
We’ve covered some of the following in what the DBS means to you but here’s a quick breakdown of the kind of work the DBS does.
Disclosure
Once the DBS is complete the applicant will give this certificate to their employer so that they can make an informed decision about hiring you.
You can find out here what kind of information the DBS searches through.
The certificate will contain sensitive and personal information so there is a code of practice for recipients. This ensures that this information remains confidential and you know the information is being handled fairly and used properly.
Referrals
Referrals are made to DBS when an employer or organisation believes a person has caused harm or poses a future risk of harm to vulnerable groups, including children.
Barring
An employer or volunteer manager is breaking the law if they knowingly employ someone in a regulated activity with a group from which they are barred from working.
The DBS do try and make the baring decisions as fair as they can be, looking into each individual case.
There are two main ways a case can reach them.
Autobars
There are two types of automatic barring cases where a person has been cautioned or convicted for a relevant offence:
- Automatic barring offences (without the right to make representations) will result in the person being included in one or both barred lists by DBS, irrespective of whether they have, are, or may in the future engage in regulated activity
- Automatic barring offences (with the right to make representations) may also result in the person being placed on one or both barred lists. This will be subject to whether DBS believes that the person has engaged, is engaging or may in future engage in regulated activity, and the consideration of any representations they make
Referrals
As mentioned above, this is put forward by an employer or organisation rather than the individual.
A registered body is an organisation that has the right to ask the questions that are exempt under the Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act or can countersign on the behalf of another organisation which is itself entitled to ask these questions.
Basically they’re in charge of making sure that your application is kosher and will countersign it once they’ve processed it to say that all your information is genuine.
Before they do this they will:
- Check and validate the information you give them
- Make sure you are who you say you are
- Check that your application form is correctly filled in and that you haven’t told any porkies
Make sure that the application process complies with the DBS’s code of practice.
You can find out more about how to make a referral to the DBS in this booklet.
What’s the difference between the CRB and the DBS?
The DBS replaced the CRB in December 2012 to make the process more efficient and simpler.
The DBS has a new system which, for the first time, enables individuals to apply to have their criminal record check kept up to date, and employers are able to go online to see if the information released is still current and valid.
The new online service costs £13 a year to keep your criminal record up to date. This means you can take the certificate with you from role to role, within the same workforce, without having to apply for a new one each time. We highly recommend this to people who are working on short-term contracts.
When subscribing to this service, you would only have to seek a new criminal record check if the system tells you something has changed.
How do I get a DBS check?
You can’t do a criminal records check on yourself. For individuals who are self-employed, getting a DBS check is difficult but not impossible.
You can find a local DBS umbrella body on the Gov.uk site here. For a fee, one of these agencies will do it for you.
In Scotland, if you need to run a check on yourself, you can get a ‘basic disclosure’ with details of any unspent convictions from Disclosure Scotland.
You can also get checked through an organisation you belong to, like your church or a sports club, whereby they act as your third party.
If you cannot get your hands on the DBS check, a good alternative is a Subject Access Report which you can obtain by filling out a form online or going down to your local police station. The report costs £10 and shows anything that is on your record. It should take around four weeks to process. However, be aware that this is not always good enough.
For example, many psychologists are technically self-employed but work with children under contract with NHS/Social Services. For them, a basic check is ineffective as a safeguarding measure so they need to have had an full enhanced check to do the work they do.
How much do DBS checks costs?
As mentioned earlier, here are three types of check each with a different price.
| Type of check and cost | What it will check for | How long it normally takes |
| Standard – £26 | Spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, final warnings | About two weeks |
| Enhanced – £44 | As above – plus any additional information held locally by police forces that’s reasonably considered relevant to the post applied for | About four weeks |
| Enhanced with list checks – £44 | As above – plus a check of the appropriate DBS barred lists | About four weeks |
For volunteers it’s free of charge.
However, on top of these charges you will pay administration fees to the agency which will vary according to the different registered bodies, but are usually in the region of £20 plus VAT.
N.B. DBS checks are only valid in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
For Scotland you must get your check done by Disclosure Scotland. All checks carried out cost £25.
Hi I want to set up a company teaching pregnant women and will hire premises to do so. Will my husbands convictions show or be highlighted as an associate on my checks? (my crb is clean) My husband has recently been convicted of downloading 60 class 1 images on the computer (he cant even send an email, but obviously the police don’t belive us). He is threatening to leave as he is so mentally upset by all this – is there a way in which I can find out? I don’t want to stop my company after investing so much… Read more »
I have been offer job but need to pay for my crb check does anyone know if the jobcentre will pay for this as I have very little money and a young daughter to look after thanks
I have been offer job but need to pay for my crb check does anyone know if the jobcentre will pay for this as I have very little money and a young daughter to look after thanks
Hello, I have clear enhanced DBS dated June this year. However, whilst escaping domestic violence in August I have been charged with failure to provide and public order section 5. I have just interviewed for a job that requires enhanced DBS as working in parenting groups. It asked if had any convictions which I truthfully answered No. There is a big possibility the case will be dropped, but currently it is due to go to court in Feb 2014, however if I am offered the job now and they do a DBS is this going to show up? Thanks
Did u find out if they will see this on the check? I’m going through a similar situation
my husband was convicted of theft in 2005. He got 200 hours of community service (he was innocent). He has recently been made redundant and is now applying for a job in a carehome as a driver. Will this show up on a disclosure check?
unfortunately, this will show up on his checks until 11 years after his conviction, and provided he does not have any other convictions.
Meanwhile, he would need to persuade employers he is no risk – work on his CV – get references /testimonials ..including from his present job as part of his redundancy package.
All the best
David Wacks
i paid a civil recovery firm and i was just wondering will this come up on an enhanced crb form i wasnt arrested by police nor was i told i had a caution but the civil recovery company issued me with a letter that states that they can pass on data can they even do this
involvement of a civil recovery firm may affect your credit rating, but unless it relates to some underlyingcriminal matter it should not come up on any CRB form – if it does, please update and I can advise further
Hi 30yrs ago I got a theft conviction will this show on the new dB’s checks I will be working as a cleaner in an hospital thanks
following changes to the law earlier this year, provided the theft was not aggravated e.g. with force, and provided you were not to prison, then this conviction should now be filtered off and need not be mentioned on employment applications but the changes only apply to employment law here, so if you apply say for a visa to America it would need disclosure and you would need to apply for a visa on notice – possibly with attendance on embassy and should be done many months in advance, so if you do not get the Visa you do not waste… Read more »
Hi there, I know this is an old thread but I could really do with some advice. I am currently about to start my pgce and therefore need to complete an enhanced crb. I have a caution from 5years ago that I’m not particularly proud of. I was in a dark place and attempted to leave the store without paying for a dress. I am scared this will show up on my crb and want to know if this will affect my teaching career. Please help!
this caution will now be filtered off your record 6 years after you were given. It. If you are likely to lose a job because of it now. It is possible to apply now to have it removed – recent case law can help such applications and any queries I will answer.on this
I am 39 and I needed a CRB done for a nursing course a while ago, I was a bit worried about this as I had received a caution for attempted criminal damage when I was 14 so 25 years ago. As it was an enhanced check I needed my CRB to be clean. As I said I was a bit worried about whether to declare this or not as if It was on the check and I had lied then that would of been worse. So I rang my local police station and explained about the check and that… Read more »
the police are right that 3 months ago the law was changed so that 3 years after a reprimand was given to someone under 18 or 6 years after a caution given to someone over 18. It will be filtered off and need not be disclosed on job applications. Unless it is on a list of more serious offences – criminal damage is not on that list-please be aware that the government published list is incomplete at the moment so it is confusing – some people look on the list think they are clear when it is in fact banned… Read more »
I arrived to the UK 1 month ago, and I am applying for a care worker. I was told a CRB check was necessary and the company will charge 44£ when I fill up the application form. Wouldn’t make more sense to get a criminal certificate from my country through the embassy? What kind of result would it show in such a short period of time?
Dear Ana ,
you are right that little will show up and some companies asked for both local checks and from your country of origin.
Sorry for the delay in replying. As I have not been too well