Disclosure and Barring Checks (previously called Criminal Records Checks)

Changes were made to the law on criminal records checks in 2012 under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which set up the new Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), a division of the Home Office — a merger of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

As was the case under the previous system, DBS checks are only available where an employer is recruiting into an occupation covered by the Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, such as working with children and vulnerable adults.

There are two levels of DBS check — enhanced: for job applicants who will be working with children, the elderly or vulnerable, and standard: for certain other types of work. An enhanced check will include checking whether someone’s name appears on a “barred” list (previously maintained by the ISA) as unsuitable for working with children or vulnerable adults. The existing Code of Practice for Registered Persons and Other Recipients of Disclosure Information, which governs criminal records checks, remains in place following the merger and can be downloaded from the Home Office website.

Information about the cost of DBS checks and the timescale involved can be found at: www.gov.uk/crb-criminal-records-bureau-check. The progress of DBS checks can be tracked online. People in the workplace as volunteers do not have to pay a fee.