Many public-sector roles — especially in health, education, social care and policing — are conditional on a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. If you have not applied for one of these jobs before, the requirement can be confusing. Here is what the levels mean and what actually happens.
What a DBS check is
A DBS check (in England and Wales) is a record of certain criminal history that an employer can request to decide whether someone is suitable for a role, particularly one involving children or vulnerable adults. Scotland uses Disclosure Scotland and Northern Ireland uses AccessNI; the principles are similar.
The three levels
- Basic: shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions. Anyone can request their own.
- Standard: shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings. Used for specific roles defined in law.
- Enhanced: as standard, plus any information a chief police officer reasonably considers relevant. Used for roles working closely with children or vulnerable adults.
- Enhanced with barred list check: also checks whether you are on the children's and/or adults' barred lists. Common in health, education and social care.
What to expect in the process
- The check is normally requested by the employer after a conditional job offer, not before you apply.
- You will need to prove your identity with documents and provide an address history.
- A criminal record does not automatically bar you — employers must consider relevance, how long ago and the role.
- The DBS Update Service lets you keep a check current and reuse it between jobs at the same level.
Filtering and disclosure
Older or minor cautions and convictions can become "protected" (filtered) and no longer appear on standard or enhanced checks. Roles that involve regulated activity are exempt from parts of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, which is why spent convictions can still be disclosed for them. If you are unsure what will show, you can request a basic check on yourself first.
GovJobs lists the role and links to the official advert, which states whether a DBS check is required and at what level. This guide is general information, not legal advice; the official DBS guidance on GOV.UK is the authoritative source.