Can I check myself or a family member?

February 13th, 2013 by Jonathan Bazely

Under the current Legislation an individual or self-employed person can not obtain an Enhanced or Standard DBS check upon themselves. Anybody can request a Basic-level Check on themselves, via Disclosure Scotland. For higher level Disclosures there must always be a third party who is either offering a role that is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) or is willing to endorse the subject working in a qualifying role. Further, that 3rd party must have the sanction of denying the role to the subject of the Disclosure, or refusing to endorse their working in that role, if they do not consider it to be satisfactory.

This includes companies where the subject of the check is also the proprietor of the organisation. If there are co-owners who are not related you can request checks upon each other.

If you have been asked for a DBS check, you can ask the requesting organisation to contact DDC and they may be able to administer the checks directly with us.

I am self employed, how do I request a DBS check?

If you are self employed, the only level of check you can obtain on yourself is a Basic-level check. Anybody may request a basic level disclosure on themselves, and this can be done directly with Disclosure Scotland. You can read more on our Basic Disclosure page.

If you are intending to work or volunteer in certain roles, you may require a Standard or Enhanced level check. Under current legislation, self-employed individuals cannot get a check on themselves. In this situation, the self-employed individual would need to allow a 3rd party, such as a professional association, to request a check. If the returned Disclosure contains information that indicates you are unsuitable for the role, the professional association would make this decision.