Disclosure and Barring Checks (previously called Criminal Records Checks)

The body with responsibility for criminal records checking is the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), a division of the Home Office created following a merger of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

As was previously the case, 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 Code of Practice for Registered Persons and Other Recipients of Disclosure Information, which governs criminal records checks, can be downloaded from the GOV.uk website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-code-of-practice).