DBS Checks.

DBS Checks are essential in numerous sectors, serving as a key component for regulatory compliance. They offer employers valuable information to support safer hiring practices, helping to identify individuals who may pose potential risks to the organisation, its employees, or its clients.

Standard and Enhanced DBS checks are essential for numerous roles classified as ‘Regulated Activity.’ For instance, in fields like healthcare, nearly all positions require a valid DBS certificate to meet compliance standards.

These checks provide employers with crucial information to make safe and informed hiring choices, including identifying if a candidate is barred from working with specific groups.

Many employers in sectors like financial services also conduct Basic DBS checks as a proactive risk management measure. While these checks are generally not mandatory, guidelines from regulators like the FCA recommend them as a best practice.

Regulated activity encompasses roles that individuals who are barred are legally restricted from performing. These roles often involve working closely with children or vulnerable adults, such as positions in education or caregiving. The criteria for regulated activity are specified in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and were revised with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) offers detailed guidance for roles within the Child Workforce, Adult Workforce, and Other Workforce, helping clarify which positions fall under regulated activity.

A DBS Check reveals varying levels of criminal history depending on the type requested.

• Basic DBS shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions.

• Standard DBS includes spent and unspent convictions, warnings, and reprimands.

• Enhanced DBS covers the same as Standard and may include checks against the Children’s and/or Adult barred lists, plus relevant local police information.

Filtering rules ensure that certain minor offenses are excluded from disclosure after specific timeframes, unless they involve serious offenses like violence or fraud.

While the Disclosure and Barring Service suggests that DBS checks can take 6–8 weeks, our experience shows they are often completed faster. Here are the typical completion times:

Basic DBS Check: 0.9 days

Standard DBS Check: 4.8 days

Enhanced DBS Check: 9.8 days

Over half of our Standard and Enhanced DBS applications are finalized within five days. However, processing times aren’t fixed and may be extended due to applicant mistakes or external factors.

A DBS Check doesn’t come with an expiration date, it simply provides information that is current as of the date of issue.

In certain sectors, guidelines recommend how often a new DBS Check should be performed. Many employers choose to renew these checks every year or every 3 years, leading to the common belief that DBS Checks are only valid for that timeframe.