Government priority

The Update Service is one of the government’s top priorities. It will put individuals in greater control of their own information; allow DBS certificates to be reused when applying for similar jobs; and reduce bureaucracy.

The new service should save the customer time and money and improve the overall safeguarding landscape.

You may never need to apply for another DBS check again

Individuals can choose to subscribe to the Update Service for an annual fee of £13, or free for volunteers. Their DBS certificate will be kept up-to-date so that they can take it with them from role to role within the same workforce. As a result millions of employees and volunteers will no longer have to apply for a new criminal record check each time they apply for a job.

If an individual has subscribed to the Update Service their employer will be able to go online, with the individual’s consent, and carry out a free, instant check to find out if the information released on the DBS certificate is current and up to date.

Find out more

You can find out more by reading the DBS Update Service guidance:

applicants guidance

applicants preview

employers guidance

employers preview

employers presentation

stakeholder presentation