GovWire

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Employers can check the criminal record of someone applying for a role. This is known as getting a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

You can request a more detailed check for certain roles, for example in healthcare or childcare.

Types of check

You can request:

• a basic check, which shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• a standard check, which shows spent and unspent convictions and cautions
• an enhanced check, which shows the same as a standard check plus any information held by local police thats considered relevant to the role
• an enhanced check with barred lists, which shows the same as an enhanced check plus whether the applicant is on the list of people barred from doing the role

Checking your own criminal record

You can only request a basic check for yourself.

If youre self-employed, an organisation youre working with can get a standard, enhanced or enhanced with barred lists check for you, where the role is eligible.

When to repeat a check

A DBS check has no official expiry date. Any information included will be accurate at the time the check was carried out. Its up to you to decide when a new check is needed.

If the applicant has signed up for the DBS update service you can check whether their certificate is up to date online.

Certificates for previous roles

You can accept a certificate that was requested for a previous role but you must:

• check the applicants identity matches the details on the certificate
• check the certificate is the right level and type for the role applied for
• check to see if anything has changed if the applicant is signed up for the update service

Checks on someone who lived abroad

DBS checks will not cover the time someone lived outside the UK.

Contact DBS

Contact DBS if youre not sure whether you can request a check.