Self-employed individuals and personal employees will soon be able to apply for their own Enhanced DBS checks, following an important change in legislation coming into force on 21 January.
What’s changing?
Under the new legislation, individuals who are self-employed or personally employed, and paid for their services, will be able to initiate their own Enhanced or Enhanced with Barred List DBS checks. Previously, this was not possible without an employer or agency acting as the applicant’s sponsor. This change is designed to support groups such as private tutors, carers, and other professionals who work directly with clients but are not employed through a traditional organisation, or associated with an agency or membership organisation.
Things to consider
If an organisation already has an established process for self-employed members, affiliates, or contractors, that process should remain unchanged. Where associations or agencies currently oversee DBS checks, confirm eligibility, and make suitability decisions, DBS expects those existing arrangements to continue wherever possible. The legislative change is not designed to replace or weaken established safeguarding frameworks. Self-application removes the independent organisational assessment that would normally confirm role eligibility, interpret certificate content correctly, and make informed suitability decisions. Without this oversight, there is an increased risk of misunderstanding or misuse of DBS information, which reinforces the importance of associations retaining control of DBS processes wherever possible. There is also potential risk of applicant misuse, including presenting certificates outside their intended context, attempting to reuse certificates for roles they were not applied for, or misunderstanding barred list or filtering rules. DBS certificates are not transferable guarantees of suitability and must always be assessed in the correct role-specific context.
Key points from the updated DBS guidance
• Eligibility of self-employment Only self-employed individuals with no affiliation with an organisation, agency or association will be eligible to obtain a DBS certificate via this route. Eligibility will be assessed through the Umbrella Body, where the applications is made.
• ID checking remains unchanged Identity checks must still be carried out to the same standard as for all other applicants. This can be completed via digital identity or by checks through the Umbrella Body.
• Level of checks Eligibility rules remain unchanged. The legislation enables access to Enhanced and Enhanced with Barred List checks only.
• Results handling DBS results (including eResults) are be issued to the applicant only. They will not be shared with any third party to make any risk assessments. • Volunteers excluded The legislative change applies only to paid arrangements. Volunteer roles are not covered, meaning volunteer applicants remain eligible only for Basic checks and DBS fees will apply to all applications under the new route.
• Update Service available
Self-employed and personal employee applicants will be able to join the DBS Update Service, and are encouraged to do so. This will allow potential private employers to check the certificate is up to date.
A significant difference
This legislative change marks a significant shift in how DBS checks can be accessed, empowering self-employed professionals to take control of their own safeguarding credentials. This puts more responsibility on the end user of services to ensure relevant safeguarding checks are conducted prior to engaging with them. This will not include seeing and assessing a DBS certificate. The DBS have published guidance for private individuals.
Further detailed guidance from DBS can be found here:
DDC remains committed to supporting organisations and associations, promoting compliant and correct use of DBS checks, and maintaining high safeguarding standards across all sectors.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss these changes further.
