Aim of this guidance

This guidance is for employers carrying out formal criminal record checks as part of their recruitment process.

The aim of this guidance is to provide information and tools to help you understand what level of criminal record check you might be able to carry out when you’re recruiting for a role, as well as making sure that you don’t carry out an incorrect level of check. The guidance is particularly focused at determining when you can carry out a standard or enhanced check through the Disclosure and Barring Service.

This forms part of our guidance on carrying out criminal record checks.

Why this is important

• Any role can be subject to a basic criminal record check but, under the GDPR, an employer must demonstrate that it is necessary to ask.
• Only certain positions can involve a standard, enhanced or enhanced with barred list criminal record check.
• The DBS is underpinned by law – each application involves the signing of a declaration that confirms that the position is legally eligible for that level of criminal record check.
• It is a criminal offence to knowingly submit an application which is ineligible.
• A number of employers have carried out ineligible checks.
• People with spent convictions do not have to disclose them for most jobs, and they won’t be disclosed on basic criminal record checks.
• People with spent convictions will need to disclose when applying for roles that involve standard or enhanced criminal record checks as they’ll usually be disclosed on these levels of checks (unless they are filtered).
• A small proportion of people with criminal records are barred from carrying out regulated activity – these roles involve enhanced with barred list checks.
• Registered bodies are required to comply with the DBS code of practice.
• When a registered body signs the declaration on the application form, they are confirming the position is eligible for that level of check. It is a criminal offence to knowingly submit an application which is ineligible, and this covers employers who use Umbrella Bodies to submit applications on their behalf.

Do you need to check?

Before you advertise a role, you should decide whether or not you wish to carry out a criminal record check on the successful applicant.

There are very few roles where you’re legally required to conduct a criminal record check.

If you wish to undertake a criminal record check, the next question is to determine what level of check the role you’re recruiting to is eligible for. The level of check will vary depending on the role.

Most jobs in England & Wales are covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and so an employer would be able to carry out a basic check but not a higher level.

DBS code of practice

If you’re doing standard or enhanced checks, you need to make sure that you comply with the DBS code of practice:

“Registered Bodies must:

1. Use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that they only submit Criminal Records check applications in accordance with the legislative provisions which provide eligibility criteria for relevant positions or employment.
2. Ensure that before allowing a DBS check application to be submitted they have assessed the role to be eligible under current legislation, correctly applied the right level of check, and correctly requested the appropriate barring list information.
3. Ensure they are legally entitled to request any DBS product being applied for.”

If you’re a small employer using a registered body acting as an umbrella body, the code directly applies to the registered body, and they will place reliance on you to provide them with accurate information to comply with their obligations.

The types/levels of checks

As this guidance is aimed at employers, it covers the types of checks that employers can use as part of their recruitment process. There are other forms of vetting such as security clearance and prison vetting which, depending on the role, you may need to factor in to your recruitment process.

With this in mind, for the purposes of this guidance there are four levels of criminal record check:

1. Basic
2. Standard
3. Enhanced
4. Enhanced with barred list

Basic check

Key facts about basic checks:

Standard check

Key facts about standard checks:

Enhanced check

Key facts about enhanced checks:

Enhanced with barred list check

Key facts about enhanced with barred list checks:

Types of roles that often involve certain levels of checks

The lists below are intended to give an indication of the types of roles that involve certain levels of checks. They are not meant to be comprehensive. If you see a role listed, it doesn’t mean that it’s definitely eligible for that level of check. Likewise, if you don’t see a role listed, it doesn’t mean it isn’t eligible for that level of check.

Regulated activity

Regulated activity is a phrase that refers to the majority of roles that involve enhanced plus barring checks.

This guidance is not aimed at going into the detail of ‘regulated activity’, and this will be covered elsewhere on this site in the near future.

In the meantime, there are some useful links below:

• DBS guidance on regulated activity and workforces
• DBS tool on eligibility

Roles not necessarily eligible for standard or enhanced checks

Alongside the types of roles that often involve certain levels of checks, there are some roles where employers tend to get confused and/or misinterpret what level of check they can do for that particular role. The result is that the employer usual ends up trying to do a higher level of check than what they’re legally allowed to do.

Examples of roles that are not necessarily eligible for standard or enhanced checks include:

• Roles working with the public – employers often interpret this as meaning the work involves working with children and vulnerable groups. The vast majority of people work ‘with the public’ in one way or another and that doesn’t necessarily equate to ‘working with children or vulnerable groups’.
• Going into people’s homes – for example, various tradespeople (electricians, meter readers, plumbers) go into people’s homes on a one-off basis. These would normally be eligible for basic checks.
• University lecturers – see this example
• Office workers – see this example
• Charity workers – see this example
• Bank cashiers – most jobs in banks and financial services are not covered by the ‘approved person’ scheme overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (and where a standard check can be carried out). Instead, banks can do basic checks.
• Working in the financial industry – see this example
• HGV drivers – see this example
• Contractors going into schools – see this example

Note: The aim of the list above is to show roles that are not necessarily eligible for standard or enhanced level checks. It doesn’t mean that specific roles matching the above titles cannot be – it just means you shouldn’t assume that they are by default.

The legislation for criminal record checks recognised that there was a need for different levels of checks, and this is why basic checks can be carried out on all roles, with higher levels of checks only for certain roles, for example where there is one-to-one unsupervised work with children.

Step-by-step guide to working out the level of check for a particular role

The level of check that you can carry out will vary depending on the particular role. It is important to make sure that you are completely clear on the type of check you are entitled to request before you advertise the position (which is part of our checklist for specific vacancies).

It’s not possible for this site to provide answers to individual queries. However, there are tools, guidance and contact that can help:

1. Step 1 – Assume the ROA applies
2. Step 2 – DBS tool
3. Step 3 – DBS guidance
4. Step 4 – Get advice from a registered body
5. Step 5 – Get advice from the DBS
6. Still not clear?
7. Checks for overseas applicants

Step 1 – Assume the ROA applies

Start by assuming that the role is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. That’s how the law works – all positions are covered by that legislation unless they are exempt from it.

This means that you start from the position that you can carry out a basic criminal record check.

Step 2 – DBS tool

The DBS has an online tool – which is titled ‘Find out if you can check someone’s criminal record‘ (but it’s often referred to on this site as the ‘DBS eligibility tool’).

You can use this tool to help you work out what level of criminal record check you can apply for for a particular role.

Below are some images of the tool, showing:

1. the landing page
2. a results screen (1) showing eligibility for an enhanced with barred list check
3. a results screen (2) showing no eligibility for a standard or enhanced check (and so eligible for a basic check)

Landing page – Click to enlarge

Results screen 1 – Click to enlarge

Results screen 2 – Click to enlarge

Step 3 – DBS guidance

The DBS maintains a guide on eligibility. This is regularly updated. It links to the tool they oversee.

The guide provides details of positions that are eligible for standard or enhanced checks. It is not comprehensive and only gives an indication of the employments that are included in the Exceptions Order.

Step 4 – Get advice from a registered body

If you’re a registered body, you should have skills and expertise within your organisation to advise on the relevant level of check for a particular role.

If you’re not a registered body, you’ll need to use a registered or ‘umbrella’ body to carry out standard or enhanced DBS checks. ‘Umbrella’ bodies means they conduct checks on behalf of smaller employers. In this situation, the employer is a ‘customer’ of the registered body, and it’s part of their role to provide advice on the level of check that can be done for a particular role. They have to make a legal declaration when submitting the application to the DBS, so they need to be sure the role is eligible.

Step 5 – Get advice from the DBS

You can contact DBS customer services for further information or if you’re not sure about what level of check you can carry out.

• by email: customerservices@dbs.gsi.gov.uk
• by telephone: 03000 200 190

Still not clear?

If you’re still not clear, you can send us the details. Although we cannot make decisions on your behalf, we can look into the reasons why you’ve not found an answer to what level of check you’re able to carry out, and provide advice and guidance.

Email the following to recruit@unlock.org.uk:

1. The organisation you work for
2. The role you’re recruiting for (including a job description and responsibilities)
3. The level of check you think the role can involve
4. The result you received from using the DBS tool (and how you got to that result – what options did you choose?)
5. The parts of the DBS guidance you think are most relevant
6. The details of the response you’ve received from the registered body/umbrella body (if you’re not one yourself)
7. The details of the response you’ve received from the DBS

Checks for overseas applicants

We plan to cover doing criminal record checks for overseas applicants in separate guidance. In the meantime, the Home Office has helpful guidance on who can apply, how to apply and contact details.

The DBS role in stopping ineligible checks

The DBS plays an important role in stopping ineligible checks.

Between March 2012 and February 2014, the DBS had written to counter signatories on 3,311 occasions under the Ineligible Applications Process, and 1,385 applications were subsequently not completed (42%).

Don’t just do the right check – explain it right too

Too often, employers are unclear in their adverts about the level of check

Good practice tips

1. When you’re advertising for a particular position, the specific level of check should be made clear in the advertisement and vacancy details.
2. Follow our step-by-step guide if you’re not sure about the eligibility of a particular position.

Examples of bad practice

To illustrate why this guidance is important, we’ve included some examples where practice could (and should) be improved.

This extract of a BBC article shows how councils were carrying out levels of checks on positions not eligible for them

Frequently asked questions

This section will be added to over time, responding to the common questions we receive about this guidance.

Useful resources

1. The DBS online tool – Find out if you can check someone’s criminal record
2. The DBS guidance on eligibility for DBS checks

More information

1. There is more information about carrying out criminal record checks, which forms part of the practical guidance section of Recruit!
2. For further advice about this guidance, please contact us.

Has this been useful?

You can let us know by:

1. Writing a comment on this page (see below)
2. Sending your feedback directly to us
3. Emailing us at recruit@unlock.org.uk

Is there anything wrong with this guidance? Let us know – email recruit@unlock.org.uk.