DownloadHiring the right person involves more than just a great interview; it’s about making sure your business, staff, and employees stay safe.
This guide breaks down everything you need to know about DBS checks, from choosing the right level to tracking an application’s progress. We’ve included the latest legislation and expert advice to help you navigate the screening process as quickly as possible.
What is a DBS check?
DBS stands for the Disclosure and Barring Service, and a DBS check is a criminal record background check issued by the DBS that gives details of an applicant’s criminal history. These checks are a key part of pre-employment screening in the UK, with the DBS reporting that they issued just under 7.3 million DBS certificates in 2024/25.
A DBS check highlights information that employers must review before making a final hiring decision. The goal is to protect your business, staff, and reputation by identifying any potential risks early on. Here’s how they can do that:
- Preventing (and keeping records of) unsuitable individuals from working with vulnerable groups.
- Spotting reasons a potential employee is unsuitable for the role that they’ve applied for.
- Responding to referrals from organisations that are concerned that a candidate may not be suitable for a job due to the reasons above.
Who needs a DBS check?
There’s no blanket law that states that every job in the UK needs a DBS check. But, for a lot of sectors, a DBS check is a necessary part of meeting your legal safeguarding and regulatory obligations.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 bars unsuitable people from working in certain roles, and a DBS check is the best way for employers to check this.
Employers will probably need to conduct a check if a role involves:
- Working with vulnerable groups — This includes children, the elderly, or people with disabilities. If these roles involve close contact or frequent supervision, they are legally classified as regulated activity.
- The Children’s and Adults’ Barred Lists — These are registers of people legally prohibited from working in regulated activity. It’s a criminal offence for an employer to knowingly let a barred person work in a regulated activity role, and it can result in imprisonment and an unlimited fine.
- Positions of trust — Roles like solicitors, accountants, and veterinary surgeons.
- Sensitive settings — Any job based in a school, hospital, or children’s home often needs a high-level check.
- Access to sensitive data — Roles that handle confidential information or high-level financial systems.
What is a CRB check?
A CRB check was the old version of a criminal record check issued by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). In 2012, the CRB and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) merged to form the DBS, streamlining their processes into one single service. Previously:
- The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) – Was responsible for criminal record checks.
- The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) – Was responsible for maintaining the Barred Lists.
After the merge, the DBS took over both services, and employers can now request one check that includes criminal history and barred list information (if applicable).
It means that today, CRB checks don’t exist. If a role needs a criminal record search, you’ll need to request a DBS check instead.
While the name changed, the aim of both checks is the same: helping you spot suitable candidates through criminal record data.
What types of DBS checks are there?
There are four different levels of DBS Check: Basic, Standard, Enhanced, and Enhanced with Barred Lists. Each level reveals different amounts of information, and there may be information still disclosed on an enhanced DBS Check even if you don’t have a criminal record.
The standard and enhanced levels each have different eligibility requirements. If your role doesn’t meet the requirements for a particular level, you won’t be able to have that type of check.
| What it shows | Who is it for? | Who can apply? | |
| Basic DBS Check | Unspent convictions and cautions. | Any role (e.g. retail, warehouse, office). | Employers or Individuals. |
| Standard DBS Check | Spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, and final warnings. | Positions of trust (e.g. accountants, solicitors, financial advisors, police officers). | Employers or a registered umbrella body. |
| Enhanced DBS Check | Spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, final warnings, and anyrelevant info held by local police. | Roles with regular contact with vulnerable groups (e.g. teachers, non-teaching school staff, social workers). | Employers or a registered umbrella body |
| Enhanced with Barred Lists | Enhanced info + checks against Children’s and/or Adults’ Barred Lists. | Regulated activity (e.g. teachers, nurses, carers). | Employers or a registered umbrella body |
You can learn more about the difference between Basic, Standard, and Enhanced DBS checks here.
DBS check: Workforce types and eligibility
Choosing the right DBS check isn’t just about the level of disclosure; you also need to select the right workforce. This is a mandatory part of the application that tells the DBS which set of records and police information they need to search.
There are four workforce types you can choose from:
- Child Workforce: For roles involving work with children who are under 18.
- Adult Workforce: For roles involving work with vulnerable adults, like in healthcare or social care sectors.
- Child and Adult Workforce: For roles that include both children and vulnerable adults (e.g. a nurse in an A&E department or a specialist family counsellor).
- Other Workforce: For roles that need a check but don’t mainly involve direct interaction with children or vulnerable adults (e.g. legal, finance, or taxi licensing).
Find out more about DBS workforce types here.
How to apply for a DBS check
For most businesses, the most efficient way to apply for a DBS check is through an umbrella body like uCheck. An umbrella body is a registered organisation that processes checks on your behalf through an easy-to-use platform.
Here’s how you can apply for a DBS check with uCheck:
- Sign up or log in to uCheck
- Select the type of check you wish to proceed with via our online portal
- Fill out the relevant details, or send the application to your candidate to complete
- Submit the application and wait for your results – you can check out our turnaround times page for more information on typical waiting times
The five stages of a DBS check
When you submit a DBS check application, it moves through a rigorous vetting process. For example, for an Enhanced DBS check, there are five distinct stages.
Stage 1: Application received and validated
The DBS receives the application and checks it for mistakes or any missing information.
Stage 2: Police National Computer (PNC) search
The candidate’s details are searched against the PNC to identify any spent or unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, or warnings.
Stage 3: Children and Adults’ Barred Lists search (Enhanced only)
If the role involves regulated activity, the DBS checks the candidate against the lists of people legally barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.
Stage 4: Search of records held by local police (Enhanced only)
The application is sent to any local police force where the candidate has lived in the last five years. They check for non-conviction or approved information, including fixed penalty notices (FPNs), penalty notices for disorder (PNDs), allegations and investigations, and acquittals. This is often the longest stage as local officers have to manually review the information.
Stage 5: DBS Certificate printed
Once all stages are complete, the certificate is printed and posted directly to the applicant’s home address.
If you’ve requested a Basic or Standard check, the process is shorter: the application skips Stages 3 and 4, moving straight from the Police National Computer search to printing.
How to track your DBS application status online
The DBS provides a free online service to track the status of DBS check applications, which is easily accessible for candidates who want to check their own application’s progress.
All they’ll need to do is enter their DBS tracking number and their date of birth. The system will show exactly which of the five stages the check is currently at.
If you’ve submitted your applications through uCheck, you can request and track DBS checks through our online platform, where you’ll be able to see the status of them at a glance.
Find out more about the stages of a DBS check and tracking here.
Is a DBS reference and tracking number the same thing?
Yes, when people talk about a ‘DBS tracking number’, they’re almost always referring to the DBS application reference number.
This is the unique ten-digit number assigned to an application as soon as it’s submitted to the Disclosure and Barring Service. If you’ve applied online, this number usually starts with the letter ‘E’.
It’s easy to confuse this with other numbers you might see during the DBS check process:
- DBS Profile Number — An 11-digit ID used by the applicant to manage their personal online DBS account and Update Service membership.
- DBS Certificate Number — A 12-digit number found only on the final, printed certificate.
Candidates can find their DBS application reference number in the confirmation email they received after submitting their form, or employers can find it after submitting the form on their behalf.
How long does a DBS check take?
At uCheck, we’ve designed our system to be as quick and simple as possible. As long as you’ve got all the information to hand when you begin the application, the process can take as little as five minutes.
Whilst we aim to get your applicant’s results back as quickly as possible, extenuating factors such as incorrect or missing information or delays with the PNC can lead to longer than average wait times. Basic checks can be returned almost instantaneously – but Enhanced checks can take up to several weeks. You can always check the status of your check on the uCheck platform – and we’ll chase any applications that have been held for longer than 60 days.
In January 2026, the national average time to complete Basic DBS checks was 0.8 days, 1.5 days for Standard, and 14 days for Enhanced DBS checks, according to the Disclosure and Barring Service’s Police Performance Information Report.
At uCheck, our average turnaround times for January 2026 were:
- Basic checks: 0.5 days
- Standard checks: 4.3 days
- Enhanced checks: 9 days
The biggest reasons for delays include:
- Stage 4 backlogs — If a candidate has lived in an area covered by a busy police force (such as the Metropolitan Police or Greater Manchester Police), manual review of local records can take several weeks.
- Incorrect information — Even a small typo in a previous address or a middle name can cause the DBS to flag the application for manual clarification.
- Paper applications — Filing by post is usually slower than online applications.
If an application hasn’t been returned after 28 days, it’s considered an ‘aged case’. At this point, you can contact the DBS by emailing customerservices@dbs.gov.uk for an official escalation. This might happen if the applicant is in financial hardship or their employment is at risk, but they’ll need to include evidence like a DBS certificate deadline date from their potential employer.
What shows up on the results of a DBS check?
After the DBS check has been returned, the results are presented on a certificate. What information shows up depends on the level of check requested.
Here is what you can expect to see:
- Basic DBS — Shows only unspent convictions and conditional cautions.
- Standard DBS — Shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, and final warnings. This is as long as they’re not protected by DBS filtering rules, which remove old or minor offences from a certificate.
- Enhanced DBS — Shows everything on a Standard check, plus any non-conviction information held by local police that they believe is relevant to the role.
- Barred List searches — If requested, the certificate will also state whether the individual is on the list of people legally prohibited from working with children, vulnerable adults, or both.
An applicant can’t pass or fail a DBS check; instead, it provides employers with the information they need to make a safe hiring decision.
Frequently asked questions
Does a DBS check expire?
A DBS certificate has no official expiry date, so it can’t technically expire, but the information on it is only truly accurate on the day it was issued.
As an employer, you must choose how long you want to keep the certificate, how it’s handled, and when re-checks should be conducted.
Do DBS checks need to be renewed?
It’s generally good practice for UK employers to renew checks every two to three years, but some sectors have even stricter requirements.
For example, from 31st March 2026, all registered pharmacy professionals must hold a valid Enhanced DBS check to meet new quality standards, with the certificate issued between 1st April 2023 and 31st March 2026.
There’s no official way to ‘renew’ a DBS check other than to complete the process of submitting the application again.
Can self-employed people get a DBS check?
Yes, self-employed people can get a DBS check, but the rules have recently changed. Previously, they could only apply for a Basic check themselves.
As of 21st January 2026, a new legislation allows self-employed professionals — like private tutors, independent carers, and coaches — to apply for Enhanced and Enhanced with Barred Lists checks through a registered umbrella body.
What happens if I lose my DBS certificate?
The DBS only issues one original certificate, which is sent directly to the applicant. They don’t issue replacements if a certificate is lost, damaged, or destroyed after delivery.
If the certificate was lost in the post and never arrived, the applicant can request a free reprint, but this must be done within 93 days of the issue date.
Get your DBS checks with uCheck
Navigating the world of DBS checks can feel like a legislative minefield, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re a small business hiring your first employee or a large organisation managing hundreds of renewals, the key is to stay compliant.
At uCheck, we’re here to take the complexity out of the process, giving you more time to focus on what matters most — running your business.
- Over 80,000 organisations trust uCheck to handle their pre-employment screening
- We complete over 1,000,000 DBS checks a year
- Most of our checks are completed within 48 hours
- Our easy-to-use HR platform streamlines the entire process, allowing you to request and track multiple checks in one central place
- Our UK-based client support team is on hand via live chat or phone
Ready to start? Register with us for your DBS checks today.
