When you’re ready to hire, the last thing you want is for a background check to hold up your start date.
Whether you’re an employer looking to onboard a new team member or an applicant eager to get started, knowing how long a DBS check takes helps you plan effectively.
Processing times summary:
Here are our average processing times (as of May 2026):
| Check | National average (May 2026) | uCheck time (May 2026) |
| Basic DBS | 0.7 days | 0.6 days |
| Standard DBS | 1.2 days | 5.4 days |
| Enhanced DBS | 13 days | 9.6 days |
How long does a DBS check take?
The level of DBS check you need is the biggest factor in how long you’ll wait. This is because different checks involve different layers of investigation.
Basic DBS checks
Basic DBS checks are the fastest checks to complete because they look for the least information: unspent convictions and cautions. Since there’s no local police force review involved, and information from the Police National Computer (PNC) is retrieved almost instantly, they’re processed centrally and quickly.
- Average wait: 17 hours
- Police involvement: Checks on the PNC
Standard DBS checks
Standard DBS Checks go a bit deeper, looking at spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, and warnings held on the PNC. This can take a few days to process, depending on the number of applications the DBS is handling.
- Average wait: 48 hours
- Police involvement: Checks on the PNC
Enhanced DBS Checks
Enhanced Checks are the most thorough checks, so they usually take the longest. They include everything in a Standard check, plus a search of local police records.
- Average wait: 12 days
- Police involvement: Checks on the PNC plus local police force search
While 10-20 working days is the average, it can take longer if an applicant has lived at several addresses, as this may call for multiple police force reviews.
It’s important to remember that average processing times for any DBS check aren’t a guarantee of how long one will take, and that several factors may affect the actual turnaround time. Read more about the difference between Basic, Standard, and Enhanced DBS checks and what they include here.
What can impact the time it takes to complete a DBS Check?
Turnaround times aren’t just about how fast the DBS works; they’re often affected by the quality of the information provided and local police force involvement.
These are some factors that influence how quickly you’ll receive your result:
- The accuracy of your application
Small mistakes on the application are the biggest cause of avoidable delays. If an application contains errors, it triggers a ‘conflict’, and the DBS must return it to the employer or applicant for clarification. Here are some common issues that we see:
- Leaving out middle names — If a name appears on a passport but not the application, it creates a discrepancy.
- Gaps in address history — The applicant must provide a full, continuous five-year address history with no gaps.
- Typos — Simple spelling mistakes in names or birthplaces can cause identification issues.
- The level of check requested
The more detailed the check, the longer it takes. Basic checks are almost always completed within days (or minutes with uCheck) because they don’t require local police review, but Enhanced Checks take longer because they have to be assessed by another party (local police forces).
- Local police force workloads
Enhanced check applications are sent to the local police forces for every area the applicant has lived in over the last five years. This can result in delays at Stage 4 when the application is stuck with a police force for review, and it’s usually down to one of these reasons:
- Multiple addresses — If the applicant has moved between different cities (e.g., from London to Manchester), each relevant force must conduct its own search, which can add a lot of time to the whole process.
- Backlogs — Police performance can fluctuate based on system upgrades, staffing shortages, and if there are a lot of checks that need to be completed at the same time.
You can click here to understand more about the DBS check process and its stages.
- Peak hiring seasons
Like any service, the DBS experiences surges in demand when there are more applications to complete.
Late summer and early autumn are typically the busiest periods, as the school term begins and graduate recruitment drives start. During these peak windows, you might find that applications take a few days longer to process.
- Process changes
There have been some changes in the way that the DBS processes checks, and these should actually speed things up:
- Digital Identity Verification (IDVT) — Previously, you’d have to meet a new starter in person or ask them to post their passport to you so you could check it was real. Now, we use certified digital identity technology. It’s a bit like the facial recognition on your phone; the applicant takes a photo of their ID and a selfie, and the system confirms it’s them in seconds. It’s much more secure than the traditional, in-person method and can save at least two days at the start of the process. Read more about Digital ID checking for DBS checks.
- Self-employed access — Since January 2026, self-employed individuals can apply for their own Enhanced Checks via umbrella bodies, like uCheck. This eliminates the delay of waiting for a third-party employer to initiate the request.
How to speed up your DBS check
Here’s how you can help get things moving as quickly as possible.
Avoid paper forms
Paper DBS Check applications are slower to post, can be held up by postal delays, and are much harder to fix if there’s a mistake, compared to online forms. Submitting through an online platform lets us catch errors before they reach the DBS.
Plus, if there are any queries with the application before countersigning, the form would have to be returned by post to correct them, further delaying the process.
Verify the level of check
Double-check that you’re asking for the right level of DBS check. If you request an Enhanced check for a role that doesn’t need one, the DBS will likely cancel it, forcing you to start all over again. At uCheck, if you pay for an unnecessary Enhanced check, we’ll refund your application so you can start again from a clean slate. However, we’ll ask you a few questions before you get to that point to make sure the role you’re submitting an Enhanced check for is actually eligible for it.
Ensure you have the correct ID documents
When requesting any level of DBS check, you’ll need to see certain ID documents, provided by the applicant, to verify their identity. Confirm which documents you need to see before the application is complete to avoid delays.
It’s also helpful to check that the applicant has the following details to hand:
- Five-year address history, including moving in and moving out dates
- National Insurance number
- Any previous names and the dates they were changed
Use IDVT
Using Digital ID verification (IDVT) is both more secure and significantly faster. It cuts out the manual admin of checking passports in person, which usually saves at least two days at the start of the process.
Choose an online system
Using an online system like uCheck is the best way to speed things up. It sends information instantly, so there’s no waiting for the post or worrying about forms getting lost. It also won’t let you submit an application until every field is filled in correctly.
This can help keep things on track because an incorrectly completed form is one of the most common causes of major delays. Plus, you’re never on your own; our friendly team is always here if you need to pick up the phone and chat through a tricky application.
When should you chase a DBS check?
The DBS doesn’t usually consider a check delayed until a certain amount of time has passed. If you are in financial hardship because of a delayed DBS application, you can contact the DBS to chase it up. However, as standard, the official escalation window is 60 days. We strongly recommend keeping an eye on the status of your check through the uCheck portal to make sure there are no pending actions.
Additionally, if your application has been sitting at the police stage (Stage 4) for more than 60 days, we can raise an official escalation for you.
The DBS then contacts the specific police force to find out what’s causing the hold-up. If you’re using the uCheck platform, we handle this process as quickly as possible so you don’t have to chase the authorities yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a DBS certificate take to arrive in the post?
Once a DBS check status shows as ‘Completed’, the digital result is usually available immediately on our system. However, the physical certificate is sent via Royal Mail second-class post and could take up to 14 days to arrive.
If it hasn’t arrived within two weeks of its issue date, the applicant can request a free reprint within 90 days of the issue date.
Can I pay for a fast-track DBS?
No, the DBS or police forces don’t offer an official fast-track service.
The best way to get a check back faster is to use a provider like uCheck with a direct digital link to the DBS and to make sure the application is fully correct and accurate from the start.
Get fast DBS Checks with uCheck
We know that every day a role stays empty is a day your business isn’t running at its best. That’s why we’ve built our platform to be as fast and user-friendly as possible.
We offer DBS checks at all levels and are always on hand to help you complete your screening quickly and with confidence. Get in touch with us today to get started.
