DBS checks: which level, and when to check again.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) gives four levels of check. Each shows more than the one before.

• Basic: unspent convictions and conditional cautions.
• Standard: spent and unspent convictions and cautions.
• Enhanced: the same as a standard check, plus any information held by local police.
• Enhanced with barred lists: the same as an enhanced check, plus whether the person is on the list of people barred from doing the role.

An employer, a voluntary organisation, or a third party acting for one can ask for a check. Self-employed people and personal employees ask for their own, and childminders go through Ofsted. A basic check costs £20, and anyone aged 16 or over who works in England and Wales can apply for one. Checks in Scotland and Northern Ireland are run separately, by Disclosure Scotland and AccessNI.

• A basic check can be used for any position or purpose.
• A standard check is only for duties, positions and licences listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.
• An enhanced check is only for duties, positions and licences listed in both that Order and the Police Act 1997 regulations.
• A barred list check is only for people carrying out regulated activity, such as some work with children or adults.

It is the role, or the activities within it, that decides. GOV.UK says an organisation is breaking the law if it applies for a standard or enhanced check, with or without barred lists, for a role that isn’t eligible, and that knowingly asking for a higher level than the law allows could also breach the Data Protection Act 2018. The same laws make a role eligible for a check; they don’t make the check compulsory.

If you’re unsure, GOV.UK’s eligibility guidance covers roles with children, roles with adults and other roles, and has a tool to find the level you can get.

The certificate goes to the applicant, who then shows it to you. GOV.UK says to see the original certificate: copies and photos aren’t acceptable.

Once you have made your decision, don’t hold on to what the certificate said for longer than you need. GOV.UK’s guidance is that the information should be destroyed after a suitable period, usually no longer than six months.

A DBS check has no official expiry date. It is accurate only on the day it was done, and it is for you to decide when a new one is needed. In some sectors, a new check may be required at set intervals, so check what applies in yours.

Writing your re-check period into your policy means the decision is made once, so nobody has to remember it person by person.

If you accept a certificate someone got for a previous job, and they have joined the Update Service, check online whether anything has changed since.

• It keeps a certificate up to date. The person joins within 30 days of the certificate being issued, and it costs them £15 a year. Volunteers join free.
• It covers standard and enhanced checks only.
• You can check a certificate’s status online, free and without registering, if you are legally entitled to that level of check and have the person’s permission.