Which level of criminal record check do I need, and what shows up?

Two things cause most of the confusion. Filtering — the rules that stop old, minor matters appearing on a standard or enhanced certificate — changed significantly in recent years and a great deal of published information is out of date. And Scotland stopped using the basic, standard and enhanced structure altogether in 2025, so any UK-wide description of the three levels is now wrong for Scotland.

Step by step

1. Work out which level the role actually needs.Level is set by law, not by preference. Standard and enhanced checks are only available for positions that are exempt from the ordinary rules on spent convictions, and enhanced checks with a barred list check only for regulated activity. An employer cannot request a higher level simply because they would like one.
2. Basic: apply for it yourself.Anyone can apply for a basic check about themselves, for any purpose, through GOV.UK. It shows unspent convictions and unspent conditional cautions only, and is often what an employer means when they ask for 'a DBS'.
3. Standard: understand what it adds.Spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings, subject to filtering. Applied for by an employer or a registered umbrella body, not by you.
4. Enhanced: understand the police information element.Everything on a standard check plus any information a chief officer of police reasonably believes to be relevant and considers ought to be disclosed. That can include allegations that never led to a charge, which is why enhanced checks occasionally surprise people.
5. Learn what filtering removes — and what it never removes.Adult convictions can be filtered after eleven years and adult cautions after six; youth convictions after five and a half years, and youth cautions, reprimands and warnings are not disclosed at all. Nothing is ever filtered if it is unspent, if it is on the list of specified serious offences, or if it resulted in a custodial sentence including a suspended one.
6. Know the rules that changed.The rule that disclosed everything once a person had more than one conviction was abolished, and youth cautions were removed from disclosure, in 2020. Unspent conditional cautions and convictions became automatically disclosed in 2023. Descriptions written before those dates are unreliable.
7. Consider the Update Service.For standard and enhanced checks only, an annual subscription — free for volunteers — that lets an employer check online whether the certificate is still current. You must register within twenty-eight days of the application being received, or within thirty days of the certificate being issued. It is not portable across a different workforce type or level.
8. Dispute anything wrong within the deadline.A certificate dispute must be raised within three months of the certificate date. Disputes about police information on an enhanced certificate can be escalated to the Independent Monitor. Barring decisions are a separate appeal route entirely.
9. Scotland: use the new system.Since 2025 Scotland uses Level 1 and Level 2 disclosures issued by Disclosure Scotland, replacing basic, standard and enhanced, alongside the Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme with five-year membership and continuous monitoring. Membership is compulsory for regulated roles.
10. Northern Ireland: use AccessNI, and note the differences.AccessNI retains basic, standard and enhanced. It discloses Northern Ireland-specific disposals including informed warnings and diversionary youth conferences, and its filtering rules differ — youth cautions and diversionary youth conferences are filtered after two years rather than never being disclosed.
11. Remember the check follows the work, not your home.Which body issues the check depends on where the work is done, not where you live. Someone living in Carlisle working in Dumfries needs a Disclosure Scotland check.

Tips

• Register for the Update Service straight away if the role is standard or enhanced. The registration window is short and it saves a full check every time you change employer within the same workforce.
• Get a basic check on yourself before a job hunt if you are unsure what shows. It costs a small fee and removes a large amount of anxiety.
• Unlock and Nacro both run free confidential helplines about disclosure. They are the specialists on what has to be declared.

Common mistakes

• Reading advice written before the filtering changes — The multiple conviction rule was abolished and youth cautions removed in 2020, and conditional cautions changed in 2023. Older descriptions give the wrong answer about what will appear.
• Assuming a UK-wide answer for Scotland — Scotland replaced basic, standard and enhanced with Level 1 and Level 2 disclosures in 2025. Anything describing three levels in Scotland is now wrong.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask