DBS check types explained: choosing the right level for a role

There are four types of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check: Basic, Standard, Enhanced, and Enhanced with Barred List(s). The level an employer may request depends on the actual activities and legal eligibility of the role, not on a preference for the most detailed certificate. A Basic check is available without the role eligibility test that applies to the other three. For Standard or Enhanced checks, the recruiting organisation must establish the legal basis before applying. A barred-list check needs its own eligibility assessment. The DBS overview and current eligibility guidance are the starting points.

This guide is for employers and people coordinating vetting in England and Wales. DBS also serves the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, but local requirements should be checked. Scotland uses Disclosure Scotland; Northern Ireland uses AccessNI. Do not copy an England and Wales DBS workflow into those jurisdictions without checking their separate rules. A DBS check is also separate from a right to work check: a criminal-record certificate does not prove immigration status or create a statutory right-to-work excuse.

The four levels at a glance

The table summarises the DBS’s own description of the four levels. “Spent and unspent” does not mean every old or minor record appears: DBS filtering rules can remove protected convictions and cautions from Standard and Enhanced certificates. Do not use the table to decide an individual borderline role without reading the applicable current eligibility guide.

Basic DBS checks

A Basic check discloses unspent convictions and conditional cautions. It may be requested for a broad range of purposes because it does not require the statutory role eligibility that applies to Standard or Enhanced checks. That availability does not make a check automatically proportionate or necessary for every vacancy. Decide why it is relevant to the role, tell the applicant what is being requested and handle the certificate appropriately. An individual can apply directly to DBS; an employer can arrange a Basic check through a Responsible Organisation with the person’s consent. The DBS overview explains these routes.

A Basic certificate is not a substitute for an Enhanced check where an eligible role requires a more specific safeguarding decision. Conversely, a manager cannot request Enhanced simply because the Basic result seems insufficient. The eligibility threshold is set by law, not by the employer’s appetite for information. If the role does not qualify for Standard or Enhanced, Basic may be the available criminal-record check; other appropriate recruitment controls still matter.

Standard DBS checks

A Standard check can disclose both spent and unspent convictions and cautions on the Police National Computer, subject to filtering. The employer must first establish that the role is included in the relevant legal exception. Some professional, judicial, licensing and other specified positions qualify; an ordinary job title alone is not reliable proof. The September 2026 Standard eligibility guide sets out the role categories and supporting legislation. Where work with children or adults may be involved, the guide advises checking possible Enhanced eligibility before simply selecting Standard.

The individual does not normally submit a Standard application independently. A Registered Body submits it for the recruiting organisation. Record which duties and legal provision justify the check; “our policy requires it” is not a legal eligibility ground. If the position changes materially, reassess the level before a new application. A Standard certificate does not include a barred-list check, and it does not have the same possible local-police-information element as Enhanced.

Enhanced DBS checks

An Enhanced check includes the Standard-level information and may include relevant information held by a local police force. It can be available for qualifying work with children, qualifying work with adults, and some roles in the “other workforce.” The eligibility rules are detailed: whom the person works with, what they do, where, and sometimes how often they do it can change the answer. Start with the current DBS eligibility collection, which links the September 2026 children, adults and other-workforce guides, rather than an old generic job-title list.

An Enhanced check is not the same as Enhanced with barred lists. A role may qualify for Enhanced information without qualifying for a Children’s or Adults’ Barred List check. Where a role works with both groups, assess each workforce and each requested list separately. The adult-workforce eligibility guide makes clear that a role spanning children and adults needs assessment across both. The Registered Body or umbrella body can help with submission, but the recruiting organisation remains responsible for selecting a lawful level.

Enhanced with Barred List(s)

This level adds a check against one or both DBS barred lists to an Enhanced certificate where the role qualifies. Regulated activity with children or adults is a central route to eligibility, but the DBS overview also notes a small number of eligible roles outside regulated activity. Do not use a shortcut such as “any contact with children needs both lists.” A role working with children does not automatically justify an Adults’ Barred List check, or vice versa. In a mixed role, document why each list is requested.

If a person is barred from regulated activity with a group, allowing them knowingly to perform that regulated activity is a serious matter. That is one reason the activity analysis must be precise. A site visitor, administrator, care worker, tutor and healthcare professional can have very different duties even within the same organisation. If the statutory definition is unclear, pause the application and seek the registered body’s or specialist legal advice. Do not guess from sector alone.

A practical process for selecting the level

1. Describe the real job, not just its title

List the activities, people served, setting, supervision and frequency. Include any side duties that might affect eligibility. “Maintenance contractor at a school” is too vague: the task, contact with children, access, supervision and particular statutory route need examination. DBS says a comprehensive job description helps assess eligibility. If the role spans sites or changes over time, record which version of the duties the decision covers.

2. Check the current official guide

Use the DBS eligibility guidance or the official eligibility tool. Follow the relevant child, adult, other-workforce or Standard route. The current guides were refreshed in September 2026; a spreadsheet prepared under an older guide may be stale. Read any conditions on frequency, supervision or location. A list of “typical jobs” on a commercial site is not enough to prove eligibility for your particular role.

3. Decide whether barred-list information is allowed

If Enhanced is justified, assess the additional legal basis for the Children’s and/or Adults’ Barred List. Write down the applicable activity and group. Do not check both lists by default. If the role does not qualify for either, request Enhanced without them if Enhanced itself is justified. If it does not qualify for Enhanced, assess Standard or Basic as applicable.

4. Record the decision before applying

A useful decision record includes role version, duties, workforce, check level, barred list(s) if any, eligibility guidance and legal category used, who approved the decision, and date. Keep the decision separate from the certificate itself so a reviewer can understand why this level was lawful. The DBS warns that applying for a Standard or Enhanced level without eligibility is unlawful. The record also helps when a worker later moves to a different role.

5. Submit and handle the result through the proper route

Use the DBS application route appropriate to the level and verify the applicant’s identity under current DBS instructions. The certificate is issued to the individual, who can show it to the employer. Have a fair, role-specific process for considering information that appears. A certificate is one part of recruitment; references, qualifications, employment history and supervision arrangements may also matter. The information is sensitive. Follow the DBS code of practice and applicable data-protection arrangements; do not indiscriminately store certificate copies or circulate results.

6. Review when circumstances change

A DBS certificate is a record at a point in time; it does not automatically prove nothing has changed. The DBS Update Service employer guide covers status checks for eligible Standard or Enhanced certificates with the person’s consent and where the employer has the legal right to request the same level and workforce. It is not available for Basic checks. The employer should set a risk-based checking policy; avoid claiming a universal statutory renewal period. A change of role, workforce, duties or legal guidance may require a new eligibility decision even if a previous certificate exists.

Worked examples

Office role with no qualifying duties. A general office administrator has no activity that meets a Standard or Enhanced legal exception. The employer cannot lawfully choose Enhanced just to be “thorough.” It considers whether a Basic check is appropriate and proportionate, alongside normal recruitment checks.

Role involving adults. A care provider recruits someone whose actual duties include personal care. The provider checks the September 2026 adult-workforce guidance for Enhanced and barred-list eligibility, records the qualifying activities, then requests the eligible level through the proper route. It does not assume every person who enters the building has the same eligibility.

Contractor at a child-focused site. An organisation is considering a contractor who will visit a school. Access to a school by itself is not enough to select both barred lists. It describes the work, contact, supervision and frequency, then checks the children’s workforce guidance. If the role does not qualify, it does not force an Enhanced application simply because the site is sensitive.

These are decision illustrations, not definitive eligibility rulings for actual posts. The specific activities and current legal category control the answer.

Common mistakes and the safer alternative

• Requesting the highest check for everyone: map each role to its legal eligibility and keep the decision record.
• Treating a job title as conclusive: record what the person actually does, whom they work with and relevant conditions.
• Assuming Enhanced includes barred lists: make a separate list-specific eligibility decision.
• Using an old certificate for a different workforce: check level, workforce, barred-list entitlement, identity and consent before any Update Service status check.
• Treating DBS as right-to-work evidence: perform a separate statutory right-to-work process where required.
• Setting a universal DBS expiry date: use a risk-based recheck policy and relevant sector rules; do not invent a blanket period.
• Over-retaining sensitive information: use access control, proportionate records and the DBS code of practice.
• Equating a clear certificate with suitability: consider the whole role and recruitment evidence, not a single document.

Where Complys may fit

If current implementation confirms the relevant worker-record and reminder functions, Complys may help an employer organise its own vetting decision, certificate date, workforce and follow-up tasks. That is administrative support. No reviewed implementation evidence establishes that Complys submits DBS applications, carries out statutory checks, searches barred lists, or connects to the DBS Update Service. Do not advertise those capabilities. The proposed right-to-work software page is not a substitute DBS checker and should only be linked if its live route and claims are verified. A more natural related support page may be a verified worker-record or training-matrix page. The call to action is to organise the role decision and evidence after using the official DBS eligibility and application routes.

Source, claim, owner, product, links and writer-side QA

Terminal writer-side disposition: READY.