Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) guides

The Update Service is an online subscription that lets employers carry out a free, instant online check to view the status of an existing standard or enhanced DBS certificate.

Regulated activity is work that a barred person must not do. However, it excludes any activity carried out in the course of family relationships, and personal, non-commercial relationships. As a regulated activity provider you have a legal duty to refer an individual to the DBS where the relevant conditions are met.

Disclosure and Barring service (DBS) guidance about making referrals. Also includes information about relevant offences.

The Filtering rules that dictate the content of Standard and Enhanced checks will change with the impact of all unspent records always being disclosed.

From 28 October 2023, custodial sentences of over 4 years that are not already excluded (such as life sentences or sentences of imprisonment for public protection), will be able to become spent for the first time.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has launched a video that explains the process for a standard and enhanced DBS check. The video includes a brief summary of the work we do at DBS and then focuses on how standard and enhanced certificates are produced, and the various stages each application has to go through.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has worked with a number of organisations to create an animated ‘guide to DBS checks’ video, and accompanying leaflet. The animation aims to improve understanding, and covers multiple parts of the DBS checking process.

This guidance relates to obtaining criminal record checks in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. This leaflet addresses the eligibility of a range of roles across the adult social care sector. It is based on generic descriptions of the roles and their responsibilities. This guidance applies whether the people in these roles are paid or unpaid.

Safeguarding is at the heart of everything we do at the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). We help employers make safer recruitment decisions. We also prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups including children. This involves us making considered decisions about whether somebody should be barred from engaging in Regulated Activity with children, adults or both.

DBS checks are carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service, also known as DBS. A DBS check is a record of a person’s criminal convictions and cautions. This leaflet provides an overview of the different types of DBS check, and how to apply for them.