Guide · updated 11 November 2026

DBS ID checking: the three routes explained

This guide sets out the DBS's identity checking rules for Standard and Enhanced applications, from its guidance for applications from 22 April 2025 (updated 6 October 2026). The DBS says identity information is used to search police records and barred list entries, and that inaccurate identity information may stop it giving full and accurate information.

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Digital ID verification

The DBS says Registered Bodies and employers are strongly encouraged to consider digital ID verification if the applicant can present a passport or driving licence. The DBS publishes its own digital identity verification guidance and factsheet.

Who can check identity

The identity checker cannot verify the identity of a relative or partner, someone who lives in the same house, or a personal friend.
The DBS says the checker must make sure details of a current passport, UK driving licence and National Insurance number are on the application form, and seek photographic documents first (passport, driving licence, e-Visa or PASS card) so the applicant's likeness can be compared.
The checker must check the form is complete and accurate, for example all addresses in the last 5 years and all names known by, and must not alter the form without the applicant's knowledge and agreement.
A document type counts once: the DBS says two bank statements from the same bank count as one.

How documents are viewed

The DBS sets three options, in order:

Option one: in person, with the physical documents (or the eVisa, or a digital PASS card) in front of the checker. The DBS says this must be used unless a face-to-face appointment is not practical.
Option two: a video call, with the checker holding the physical documents, for example posted in advance. The reasons option one was not used must be recorded. The DBS says it is not acceptable to default to options two or three.
Option three: a video call where the checker does not hold the documents. The details are recorded at the time and the documents must be presented before employment starts (in exceptional cases on the first day). The DBS says a full compliant set must be presented, and the person should not start work until a full set has been examined. If the details do not match, the DBS says the check may be invalid.

The DBS says documents must be physical documents, except an eVisa viewed on the Home Office “View and Prove” service or a digital PASS card whose QR code has been checked. Photocopies and scans are not accepted (apart from the initial option three check). Documents printed from the internet, such as bank statements, are not acceptable.

The three routes

Route 1 (to be used where possible): one document from Group 1 and two more from Group 1, 2a or 2b. Together they must confirm name and date of birth.
Route 2 (only if Route 1 is impossible): the DBS says the organisation must also use an appropriate external ID verification service. If the applicant has no Group 1 document: one from Group 2a and two more from 2a or 2b.
Route 3 (only if Routes 1 and 2 are impossible): a birth certificate issued more than 12 months after the birth, one Group 2a document, and three more from 2a or 2b.
If identity cannot be established, the DBS says the form is marked “no” at W59, and the applicant will be asked to consent to fingerprinting at a police station. The DBS says this does not validate identity. It only confirms whether the person's fingerprints are held on the central record, and may delay the application.

The groups:

Group 1 (primary): for example a passport (a UK passport can be expired by up to 6 months), an eVisa through View and Prove, a UK biometric residence permit, a current photocard driving licence issued in the UK, Isle of Man or Channel Islands, a birth certificate issued within 12 months of birth, an adoption certificate. The DBS notes that a biometric residence permit can no longer prove right to work but is currently still acceptable for ID.
Group 2a (trusted government documents): for example a photocard driving licence from outside the UK, a pre-2000 paper driving licence, a birth certificate issued more than 12 months after birth, a marriage or civil partnership certificate, HM Forces ID card, a firearms licence.
Group 2b (financial and social history): for example a bank statement or utility bill issued within the last 3 months, a mortgage statement, council tax statement, P45 or P60, or benefit statement issued within the last 12 months, and cards with the PASS logo.

The DBS publishes the full lists, with notes on dates and country of issue.

Discrepancies, name changes and fraud

If information and documents disagree and fraud is not suspected, the checker must ask the applicant to clarify, and be satisfied that names and addresses are captured on the form.
The DBS gives examples: an address history that does not match employment history; a student or junior doctor with a permanent and a temporary address (both must be on the form); different spellings of a name; a driving licence with a missing middle name (the full name goes on the form); a recent change of name that can be evidenced, for example with a marriage certificate.
If a false identity or false documents are suspected at the time of application, the DBS says not to go ahead, and to report to Action Fraud. If suspected after submission, it says to call the DBS on 03000 200 190 or email customerservices@dbs.gov.uk.
The DBS says all applicants should be told about the transgender application route.
Applicants adopted before the age of 10 give their adoptive name in section A (DBS reason: the age of criminal responsibility).

External ID verification (Route 2)

The DBS says an external ID verification check compares the applicant's details with independent data sources. It asks for a check aligned to “Medium confidence” in the Cabinet Office's Good Practice Guide 45.
It says the supplier should give a clear pass or fail, not a score or percentage, and a hard copy or printable result.
It says a supplier need only be sourced once.

What to keep

The DBS says to keep a record of the documents used to validate each identity for at least 2 years, to help its fraud investigations, and that it may ask for records of applications up to 3 months old as part of routine compliance.
Copies of the documents, or PDF evidence of an eVisa, can be kept. If copies cannot be kept, the DBS says to record the document type, country of issue, any expiry date, any reference numbers, and notes of any discrepancies discussed.
The DBS says the right to work check is a separate duty of the employer and the DBS does not do it.

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Sources

DBS ID checking guidelines, GOV.UK, updated 6 October 2026
ID checking guidelines for Standard/Enhanced DBS check applications from 22 April 2025, GOV.UK, updated 6 October 2026
DBS checks guidance for employers, voluntary organisations and third parties, GOV.UK, updated 5 October 2026

Daily DBS is independent of the DBS and UK Government. This guide summarises published guidance. The DBS guidance is the authority. Checked against these sources on 10 November 2026.