Welcome back to another monthly roundup of the DBS processing times!
Following the release of the Police Performance Information report for March 2026, we now have the DBS turnaround times for February.
As usual, we’ve also pulled our own times to show you how long wait times are for each type of DBS check, and what could be affecting them.
Last month, we experienced some unexpected delays with our Standard checks which put us behind national average times. Whilst this is still the case, our wait times have improved.
So, without further ado, let’s jump right in.
February 2026 overview of DBS check processing times for Police
- Basic: 0.7 days
- Standard: 1.2 days
- Enhanced: 12.1 days
- Aged cases (cases taking longer than expected to complete) increased from 43,712 to 44,005
- 8 forces were experiencing delays
Police performance
The DBS commissions 52 police forces and enforcement agencies, which process over three million checks a year. However, several of these forces frequently experience challenges and delays, which leads to a backlog in cases.
Key police stats for February
- Average turnaround time: 22 days
- Aged cases: Increased from 43,712 to 44,005 – mainly due to IT issues within the Hampshire force again
- 41/52 Police Disclosure Units have less than 100 Aged Cases – 23 of these have less than ten
- Forecast vs reality: In February, the overall volume sent to forces was 6.5k (2.5%) above forecast. Combined with volume since October, this means forces have received more than 73,000 checks above forecast
Updates on the 8 key forces
- Avon & Somerset: Delays from high volume of checks (10.1% over forecast) and vacancies (2.58 FTE).
- Bedfordshire: Delays from staff absences and three new starters.
- Cumbria: Delays from high volume of checks (18.6% over forecast), combined with vacancies (0.28 FTE) and new trainees (3.76 FTE). Additional issues with new system, which has shown to slow turnaround time – not improve it.
- Durham: Delays from high volume of checks (5.4% over forecast) and vacancies (2.41 FTE), plus system issues.
- Dyfed Powys: Issues due to recruitment – struggling to fill vacancies (3.15 FTE). Employees are working overtime, and have sought help from other forces.
- Hampshire & Isle of Wight: IT issues back in May 2025 have led to an increase in Aged cases. Vacancies (0.95 FTE) and trainees (4.41 FTE) are also slowing turnaround.
- Hertfordshire: Delays from high volume of checks (2.7% over forecast) and training new starters.
- Thames Valley: Delays from navigating new systems, plus experienced staff leaving the force (vacancies of 1.90 FTE).
Common issues
Staff vacancies decreased from 101 to 96, with 127 staff in training. However, this onboarding and training process can easily take anywhere from six to nine months due to careful interviewing, vetting, and onboarding, meaning positive effects of new staff aren’t felt for a while.
The most significant issues are still IT disruptions, mainly coming from Hampshire, Cumbria, and Durham.
How does uCheck compare?
In February, we received 84,193 DBS checks, the vast majority of which were Enhanced DBS checks. Here’s how we compare:
- Basic DBS checks: 0.6 days
- Standard DBS checks: 3.9 days
- Enhanced DBS checks: 8.9 days
Our total average turnaround time across all DBS checks was just over seven days – a huge improvement on the Police average of 22 days.
Half of all our checks were completed in:
- Basic DBS checks: 8.5 minutes
- Standard DBS checks: 0.7 days
- Enhanced DBS checks: 2 days
Looking ahead
We’re very proud of the Sussex force for all their hard work – they’ve finally made it off the list of delayed forces!
New recruitment drives are bound to help – already, several forces have managed to trim down their over-forecasted checks (e.g. Avon & Somerset, who reduced their additional load from 7,685 at the beginning of the month by 50%, to just 3,982 applications above forecast).
At uCheck, we’re always working hard to bring you the best possible turnaround times. Whilst our Standard checks are still slower than usual, we’ve already seen a positive reduction – so hopefully we’ll be back on track soon.
