DBS Checks

Ultimately this is the decision of the employer to ensure they request the correct level of Disclosure for the work their employees are undertaking. You can find guidance on the four types of DBS checks below, to assist you in ascertaining the level of check most suitable for employees working in your organisation.

Please note:

• 16 is the minimum age at which someone can be asked to apply for a DBS check.
• Self-employed sole traders cannot request their own DBS check. They will need to ask the organisation that wishes to contract their services to request their check.

* Please note that ‘protected offences’, e.g. certain old or minor offences, may not be disclosed. Youth cautions, reprimands, and final warnings will not be automatically disclosed on Standard, Enhanced, and Enhanced with Barred Lists Disclosures.

Spent convictions are those that have reached their rehabilitation period following a criminal conviction and are removed from an individual’s criminal record. Unspent convictions are those records that have not yet reached this defined time and will appear on a Basic Criminal Record Check.

The rehabilitation period is a set period of time defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Any conviction, caution, reprimand or warning that an individual may receive is held on their Criminal Record, on the Police National Computer. Some offences are classified as ‘non-recordable,’ meaning they are not stored on the PNC (Police National Computer) and become instantly ‘spent.’ This is most commonly ‘on the spot’ fines but for more information contact the DBS directly. For exact time periods relating to types of offence please contact Disclosure Scotland or the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) directly or refer to their website.

Professions or job roles where employers can access both spent and unspent criminal convictions due to the nature of work being undertaken are detailed in The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, Exceptions Order 1975. Since 29th May 2013 there are certain conditions whereby conviction information is ‘filtered’ and some will not be displayed on the Certificate. Please view our page for more information about the Filtering of Conviction Information.

Within this legislation there is a large list of conviction types and offences that will never be filtered from a Certificate. For more information go to www.gov.uk/dbs

Where is my DBS Certificate?

Waiting for your DBS Certificate to be processed can be a frustrating time. This is especially true when you are required to have a Disclosure before starting work or taking up a volunteering role. The length of time taken by the DBS to issue a Certificate is not a sign that there is anything on the Certificate or you have a criminal record.

The DBS follow strict procedures when processing checks and deals with them in a purely chronological order. They also have service levels that dictate the process for dealing with slow Disclosures. However, these service levels do not include strict processing time limits, so the waiting period will vary from applicant to applicant. Typical processing times for an Enhanced DBS check is 9 days.

The DBS application process:

To understand why your check may be taking so long, it is useful to understand how the Disclosure process works. When a DBS check request is submitted by an employer or endorsing body, it has to pass through 5 separate stages before the document is issued, and a Certificate posted direct to the applicant’s home address. These stages are as follows:

Stage 1 – Application Form received by the DBS and validated
Stage 2 – Police National Computer searched
Stage 3 – DBS Children, DBS Adults and List 99 searched (where applicable)
Stage 4 – With the Local Police Force
Stage 5 – Certificate printed

For an eBulk user such as DDC, Stage 1 occurs very quickly as all applications are checked over by a fully trained Countersignatory at DDC before submitting. At several steps in the process systems check the form information to ensure there are no mismatches or erroneous entries. We receive an electronic receipt from the DBS to confirm that the application has been received so we know the process is under way. Any ineligible applications that don’t meet the DBS data requirements are instantly rejected by their systems, with an instant notification to the DDC Team.

Why is my DBS Certificate taking so long?

From experience, we find that applications take the longest at Stage 4, when they are passed to the Local Police Force(s) (LPF). This process sees the application passed to any of the LPF(s) in the areas listed within the 5 year address history of the applicant. This means that if an applicant has moved around the UK in the last 5 years the application will need to be passed to several different LPFs. It is also the case that these LPFs can pass the application to another LPF, if they feel that they might hold information relevant to that application.

What can I do to speed up my DBS application?

As an Umbrella Body DDC are limited in our ability to chase or speed up an application and can only begin a formal process of ‘Escalation’ once the application has been at Stage 4 for 60+ days. As part of the service that we offer, we track the application online to confirm when the application will reach this date and Escalate at the earliest opportunity. Unfortunately any of the LPFs can raise a query and return the application to the DBS. Once the query has been resolved and the application re-sent to the LPF, their 60 day Service Level Agreement restarts.

Overall, DDC can not say how long an individuals Disclosure will take to be issued by the DBS. The DBS give no preference to certain Umbrella Bodies to enable checks to be carried out more quickly. DDC do all they can to ensure the application is going through the process and unfortunately there is no way to speed it up. Information from the DBS shows that DDC’s performance is better than average compared to all Registered Bodies and many Disclosures are issued within 24 hours of the application being submitted. On the other side of this it is perfectly normal for application to take 3 weeks to be returned.

What is a Hardship Request?

A hardship request can be opened where an application has been outstanding for a minimum of 28 days and the delay is causing the individual either financial hardship or placing them art risk of losing their employment. The individual must contact the DBS directly to provide their personal information and proof of the hardship. The DBS will then assess whether the required criteria has been met and, if successful, attempt to escalate the application.

The cost of getting a criminal record check depends on several factors and ranges from as little as £14 for a volunteer getting an online Disclosure to £83 for an individual joining the Scottish PVG scheme.

The cost is determined by the type of check required, the documentation the applicant is able to provide, the type of service opted for and the volunteer status of the applicant. The eligibility for the different levels of check is decided by the DBS/SCRO, so we can only offer the lowest price to those applicants that meet the strict criteria

We are responsible for setting our own administrative fee, which includes the Royal Mail Tracked Mail fee (where applicable). Beyond this, the remainder of the application fee is set by the DBS, Disclosure Scotland or Access NI.

For more information about DDC fees please see our criminal record check price list .