Regulated activity with adults
Work with adults is regulated activity when it involves one of six categories of activity — and, unlike the children’s test, there is no frequency requirement: a single occurrence can be enough. It is the trigger for an Enhanced check with the Adults’ Barred List.
This guidance is maintained by the Complys team and reviewed against the primary DBS / GOV.UK sources listed above (last reviewed 24 September 2026). It is general information, not legal advice, and DBS rules can change — always confirm against the official sources.
The six categories
A role is regulated activity with adults if it involves any of these activities provided to an adult: [GOV.UK]
- Providing health care — by, or under the direction or supervision of, a regulated health professional. [GOV.UK]
- Providing personal care — help with washing, dressing, eating, drinking or toileting, or teaching/supervising someone to do these.
- Providing social work — by a regulated social worker.
- Assistance with a person’s cash, bills or shopping because of their age, illness or disability.
- Assistance in conducting a person’s own affairs — for example under a lasting power of attorney or deputyship.
- Conveying a person to, from or between places where they receive health care, personal care or social work, because of their age, illness or disability.
Activity, not label or setting
The definition is built on the activity provided to the adult, not on whether someone is called a “vulnerable adult” and not on the setting alone. [GOV.UK] Working in a care home, hospital or supported-living service can make a role eligible for an Enhanced check, but whether it is regulated activity — and so carries the Adults’ Barred List check — depends on whether the person actually does one of the six things. Match the duties to the categories rather than reasoning from the job title or the building.
Worked examples
| The role | Regulated activity? | Likely direction (confirm) |
|---|---|---|
| Care worker providing personal care | Yes (personal care) | Enhanced + Adults’ Barred List |
| Nurse / health-care assistant giving clinical care | Yes (health care) | Enhanced + Adults’ Barred List |
| Patient-transport driver conveying to care | Yes (conveying) | Enhanced + Adults’ Barred List |
| Care-home cook or gardener, no personal care | Not on the six categories | May be Enhanced without barred-list; confirm |
| Attorney helping with a person’s finances | Yes (conducting affairs) | Enhanced + Adults’ Barred List |
Not sure which level applies?
Our free DBS eligibility guidance checker walks you through the official criteria and points you to the guidance to confirm against. It is guidance, not a legal determination.
Open the DBS eligibility checker →Where Complys fits
Complys does not carry out DBS checks or decide eligibility. It helps you record the level and date of each worker’s check and keep review reminders, within the official handling rules. See related guidance for care workers and healthcare.
FAQs
Is there a frequency test for regulated activity with adults?
No. Unlike the children's definition, the adults' definition has no frequency test. If a role involves any of the six categories of activity, it can be regulated activity from a single occurrence — once is enough.
What are the six categories?
Providing health care; providing personal care; providing social work; assistance with a person's cash, bills or shopping; assistance with conducting a person's own affairs; and conveying a person to, from or between places where they receive care because of their age, illness or disability. Each is defined precisely in the official guidance — check the definition against the actual duties.
Does 'working with vulnerable adults' make a role regulated activity?
Not by itself. Since 2012 the test is based on the activity provided to the adult, not on a label of 'vulnerable adult'. It is the six categories of activity that decide it — so 'we work with vulnerable adults' is not the test, and neither is the setting alone.
Is working in a care home automatically regulated activity?
No. Working in a care setting can make a role eligible for an Enhanced check, but whether it is regulated activity with adults depends on whether the person actually carries out one of the six categories. A role in a care home that does none of them may be eligible for an Enhanced check without the barred-list check.
Which barred list applies?
Regulated activity with adults engages the Adults' Barred List. A person barred from working with adults must not carry out regulated activity with adults, and an organisation must not knowingly permit it.
Related DBS guides
- Regulated activity explainedRegulated activity is the legal test that decides when a role is eligible for an Enhanced DBS check with a barred-list check. What it means, why it is defined separately for children and for adults, and how activity, frequency and setting — not job titles — decide it.
- Adults' Barred ListThe Adults' Barred List records people barred by the DBS from working in regulated activity with adults. What being barred means, how the barred-list check works, when it applies, and the employer duty to refer — in plain English.
- DBS for care workersWhich DBS check adult social care roles need, and why: how personal care, health care, social work and conveying become regulated activity with adults, and when a role is eligible for an Enhanced check with the Adults' Barred List.
Official sources and further guidance
- Regulated activity with adults in England and Wales (DBS guidance leaflet) — GOV.UK / Disclosure and Barring Service
- Eligibility for roles working with adults — GOV.UK / Disclosure and Barring Service
- Eligibility for an Enhanced with Adults' Barred List DBS check — GOV.UK / Disclosure and Barring Service
- Enhanced DBS checks in the adult workforce (enhanced without a barred-list check) — GOV.UK / Disclosure and Barring Service
- DBS eligibility guidance — GOV.UK / Disclosure and Barring Service
This guidance is maintained by the Complys team and reviewed against the primary DBS / GOV.UK sources listed above (last reviewed 24 September 2026). It is general information, not legal advice, and DBS rules can change — always confirm against the official sources.