TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is a DBS Check?

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check is a criminal record check. There are three levels of DBS check:

  • Basic
  • Standard
  • Enhanced

To learn more about the different levels of DBS check,  read this article:

Explained: What are the different types of DBS Check? — Personnel Checks


Using DBS Checks

Adding to a Process

To add DBS checks to your account, or to add it to any of your preexisting Processes, contact our team on letstalk@personnelchecks.co.uk.

Please note, only one level of DBS can be added to each process.


Configuration

The following can be configured for a DBS Activity Type:


Basic DBS

NameDescription
Start AutomaticallyStarts the Case Activity as soon as the Case is started
PurposeThe reason for the DBS - can be Employment, Personal Interest or Other
Employment Sector *The sector that the role relates to
Employer Name *Employer Name
Position *The role being applied for
DBS EmailThe email address to provide consent to view the DBS certificate once it is issued.
Receive Paper CertificateWhere the paper certificate will be sent - Subject Current Address or Company Address
Certificate Issued TextThe custom text that shows on the email that is sent to the Subject when the DBS is complete

* if the purpose is set to “Employment”


Standard/Enhanced DBS

NameDescription
Start AutomaticallyStarts the Case Activity as soon as the Case is started
Employer NameThe name of the Company requesting the DBS
PositionThe role the Subject will be carrying out
WorkforceThe relevant workforce - Child, Adult, Child and Adult or Other - read more about eligibility here
Check working with adults barred list *For roles that are eligible to have the adult barred list checked - read more about eligibility here 
Check working with children barred list *For roles that are eligible to have the child barred list checked - read more about eligibility here 
Working at home address *Selected if the position involves working with children or adults at the Subject’s home address
VolunteerSelected if the role is eligible to be a volunteer check - read more about volunteers here 
Create Update Service details automaticallyWhen selected, the Subject’s “Update Service details” section is automatically populated with the certificate information
Confirm Update Service registrationConfirms that the Subject has registered for the Update Service - read more about the Update Service by CLICKING HERE
Update Service registration threshold **The maximum number of days that the Update Service will be checked to see if the certificate is registered.
Employee forename **The forename of the individual at the company requesting the Update Service checks
Employee surname **The surname of the individual at the company requesting the Update Service checks
Send Update Service Reminders **When selected the Subject will receive emails reminding them to register to the Update Service
Certificate Issued TextThe custom text that shows on the email that is sent to the Subject when the DBS is complete

* Enhanced DBS only

** Only shows when “Confirm Update Service registration” is selected

To change the configuration on your Processes, contact our team on letstalk@personnelchecks.co.uk

Please note - Adding a DBS Activity Type to a Process will also add the required Activity Types needed to gather all necessary information - Basic Details, Address History, Document Collection


Information Collected From Subjects

  • Address History
    • 5 years address history
  • Basic Details
    • Title
    • Gender
    • Date of birth
    • Nationality
    • Phone number
    • Other names history
    • Birth details
    • NI number
    • Passport
    • Licence number
  • Document Collection
    • Three eligible documents - 
  • Consent and Confirmation
    • Consent to carry out the DBS
    • Confirmation that they agree to the terms and conditions
    • Statement of whether they have existing convictions
    • State whether they would like a printed or digital certificate *
  • Basic DBS only


Verifying Identity for a DBS Check

To learn more about the rules and regulations click here {link to web page}

There are two ways to verify a DBS check, manually or using Online ID Verification (OIDV) through our IDSP partner Yoti.

Manual ID Verification

The DBS guidelines now state that physical ID documents must be seen by the ID verifier when processing a DBS check manually.

There are three verification options that you can choose from, you can choose a different option for each case that you verify.

Option 1 - In person verification with physical documents

Option 2 - Video call with physical documents

Option 3 - Video call with image of documents, and a day one check

You can read more about these options and what’s required here 


To verify a DBS:

Option One

  • Confirm the documents listed have been supplied (if alternative documents have been provided, these can be added at a later stage)
  • You will then answer questions on each document, and then approve or reject each document provided. {Make sure you follow the DBS guidance} - https://www.personnelchecks.co.uk/knowledge-hub/the-ultimate-id-verification-guide
  • There is an opportunity to upload alternative documents at this stage.
  • Next, you will be asked to confirm that you have seen both the Subject and their documents in person
  • The last step is to confirm the documents are correctly verified, state any discrepancies, and submit.

If you are unable to complete the above, you can use Option Two.

Option Two

  • To progress to option two, you will have to select a reason why you cannot complete option one.
  • Then, once you have received the original documents in the post, and arranged a video call with the Subject, the document verification process is the same as above.
  • After verifying the documents, there are some confirmations about the video call, and you will be asked to enter the date of the video call
  • The last step is to confirm the documents are correctly verified, state any discrepancies, and submit.

If you are unable to complete the above, you can use Option Three.

Option Three

  • Option three is only available when all other options have been exhausted. As with option two, you will need to record the reason why you cannot complete Option One or Two.
  • You will then verify the images of the documents, like the other two options.
  • You will then be asked a set of verification questions about the video call and the documents you have viewed, and to also confirm the day one check, where you will verify the documents in person.
  • The last step is to confirm that the documents are correctly verified, state any discrepancies, and submit.

After completing one of these steps, the identity of the individual is verified, and the DBS is ready for countersigning and submission.


Online ID Verification & In-Branch Verification

If you would prefer for the task of ID verification to be outsourced, then you can choose to use Online ID Verification (OIDV), if OIDV fails then you can also choose for your subjects to attend the post office for In-Branch Verification (IBV).

To learn more about OIDV & IBV CLICK HERE


Acceptable ID documents

Different types of documents can be used for Manual ID verification compared to Online ID Verification and In-Branch Verification

If you are unsure on which documents can be used, please CLICK HERE

DBS Case States

  • Pending Payment - The case is waiting for payment from the Subject
  • Pending Payment - The Case is waiting for payment from the Subject
  • Awaiting Subject - Waiting for the subject to submit the case portal
  • Pending Customer Payment - The Case is waiting for payment from the Customer
  • Awaiting Agent - The Case is waiting for action from the Customer
  • Awaiting Personnel Checks/TaxiPlus Team - The Case is waiting for action from PC/TP
  • In Progress - External activity has begun
  • Pending Case Decision - All activity has been completed, but decisions are still required
  • Completed - All activity has been completed, and decisions made
  • Cancelled - The case has been cancelled

Audits

Personnel Checks performs regular audits on our customers cases to ensure that ID Verification is being done correctly.

You will be notified if we notice any errors that you have made.

ID Verification Training

Personnel Checks offer training sessions around ID Verification, if you or someone in your company would benefit from attending this session, please reach out to our customer service team who can provide you with the details of the next session, you can contact them on: letstalk@personnelchecks.co.uk

Countersigning

Personnel Checks countersign all DBS checks that are processed using our platforms.

Countersigning does not mean that we check the application in full, it is the ID Verifiers responsibility to ensure the application is correct and the information matches the documents.

When PC countersign a case, we are looking at the eligibility. If we have any queries we push an application back and ask you questions about the role to ensure we are happy that the role is eligible for that level of DBS.

Countersigning is a manual process and Cases are only countersigned on working days (Mon-Fri). The last batch is submitted at 4pm and any cases submitted after 4pm will be countersigned on the next working day.

Once a Case has been countersigned, it is sent to the DBS Governing Body to start the process of the checks. The Subject will receive their E-Reference number within 48 hours, you will also be able to view this on their case on the portal.

Tracking

A DBS check goes through 5 different stages and each one will generate a date stamp once it is complete. Most cases are not applicable for all 5 stages so you may only see 3 or 4 dates.

Stage 1 - Date the DBS received the application

Stage 2 - Police National Computer

Stage 3 - Child or/and adult barred lists search

Stage 4 - Records heal by the Police search (takes the longest)

Stage 5 - Certificate printing and posting

You can track the progress of all DBS checks on our portal:

  • Locate the Case you want to track and open the Case detail screen

  • Open the DBS Case Activity drop down.

  • You can see the status, E-Reference, date received, dates of the stages that have been completed, and the countersignatures name

    You may see some cases which are in progress but they do not show a E-Ref or any tracking dates, this means the case has been countersigned within the last 48 hours and the information has not been processed yet

The tracking information on our portal is pulled directly from the DBS Governing Body every 5 minutes so it is always up to date.

Flags

Flags appear on DBS cases when there is something that needs your attention, these usually appear when a case has been withdrawn or the DBS certificate is not clear.

To learn more about flags, CLICK HERE

Update Service

You have the option to view if your Subjects have registered their DBS to the Update Service.

If you choose to do this, your cases will show an Update Service tracking section:

The Update Service tracking will either show; Registered or Not Registered.

Subjects have 30 days after the date the DBS certificate was issued to register to the update service.

This function can be added to your account free of charge. If you are interested in this, please reach out to our Customer Service team at: letstalk@personnelchecks.co.uk

To learn more about the Update Service, CLICK HERE

Result Received Emails

Personnel Checks send an automated email once the result of your Subjects DBS check is ready to view, we call these result received emails.

You can choose to amend these emails if you wish, if you have specific instructions on what your Subjects should do to start their employment once they have received their DBS certificate, then you can inform them of this in these emails.

Please note - the emails can differ per Process, not per Subject. All Subjects who apply for the same process will receive the same result received email.

If you are interested in customising your results received emails, please reach out to our Customer Service team at: letstalk@personnelchecks.co.uk