How to run a DBS Update Service status check
A status check is free, instant and done on GOV.UK. It tells you whether a DBS certificate you have already seen is still current. It does not show you what is on it. Here is what you need before you start, what you do, what each result means, and how often it makes sense to repeat it.
Before you start: five questions
The DBS says you can only run a status check if you can answer “yes” to all of these. If any answer is “no”, you cannot do the check.
- Have you seen the original paper certificate? You, or the organisation recruiting, must have seen the original, in person, and been satisfied it is genuine, at some point since it was issued. A copy, or viewing it over a video call, is not enough.
- Have you checked their identity in line with the DBS ID checking guidelines, either when the application was made or before you check the status?
- Do you have their consent? Every check is recorded and the individual can see who has made one.
- Are you legally entitled to the same level of check? Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with the relevant barred list. This is decided by the role, not by who you are. Basic checks are not on the Update Service at all.
- Does the certificate cover only the workforce you are entitled to know about? The “position applied for” section shows whether it was issued for the child workforce, the adult workforce, both, or “other”. Barred list checks follow the same rule: if you are only entitled to one list, the certificate must not include the other.
The fifth question catches people out. The DBS's own examples include a care home manager who could not check a certificate that covered children as well as adults, because she was not entitled to see the children's information. The person then needed a new application at the right level.
What you need to enter
The check is on the official Update Service. You do not need an account. You will be asked for:
- the name of your organisation (a private employer, such as someone hiring a carer, types “private employer”)
- your own first name and surname
- the certificate number
- the certificate holder's current surname, as it appears on the certificate
- their date of birth, as it appears on the certificate, in the format day month year with no leading zeros. The DBS's example: 3 July 2006 is entered as 3 7 2006, not 03 07 2006.
Check there are no stray spaces. A typo is the most common reason for a failed check.
Then read the legal declaration and tick it if it is true. You are confirming you have the person's authority and the legal right to ask for that level of information. Under the Police Act 1997 that is called asking an “exempted question”. If you cannot honestly agree, stop.
The four results
| Result | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate was blank and remains current | When issued it showed nothing, and no new information has been confirmed since. | You can accept it as current. Record the check. |
| Certificate remains current | It showed information when issued, and nothing new has been confirmed since. | Your decision still rests on what the original certificate disclosed. Record the check. |
| No longer current | New information has been confirmed that would appear on a new check. | The certificate should no longer be relied on. A new DBS check is needed to see what has changed. The DBS recommends talking to the person about the change. |
| Details do not match | The DBS cannot match what you entered. | Three possible causes: the person is not on the Update Service, their certificate has been removed from it, or you typed something wrong. Check your entry, then ask the person. |
A “no longer current” result tells you that something changed, not what. If the certificate included a barred list check, you can ask the DBS for an early confirmation check, with the person's consent. It tells you whether they have been added to a barred list. It is free and the DBS says it replies within seven working days.
After a successful check you can print the result. Store it securely, following the DBS code of practice and data protection law.
When you must stop checking
If the person leaves your organisation, moves to a role where you have no legal entitlement to the same level of check, or withdraws consent, you must stop. The DBS is blunt about this: carrying on means accessing information you are not entitled to see, which is unlawful.
How often should you check?
The DBS does not set a frequency. It asks organisations to choose a risk-based schedule, taking account of the nature of the role, the level of risk, any regulatory requirements and your own safeguarding policy. Its worked example for a school uses a check every six months, but that is an example, not a rule.
The thing to understand is that the DBS will not tell you when a status changes. You only find out when you run a check. The DBS itself looks for new convictions and barred list additions every week, and for new police information every nine months, and the status changes when it confirms something. Between your checks, a change can sit unnoticed.
So the gap between checks is the gap in your knowledge. A yearly check can leave you up to a year behind. A check every six months, up to six.
A check is one part of safer recruitment
The DBS is clear that the Update Service should not be used in isolation. It sits alongside the rest of your safer recruitment practice: employment history and gaps, references, identity and right to work, and judgement about conduct. A status check tells you whether the DBS has confirmed new information. It cannot tell you about the things the DBS has no record of.
If you do not want to do this by hand
Everything above applies to every organisation. If you have a handful of people, running the check yourself on a diary reminder is perfectly reasonable.
It gets harder as the list grows, because the check has to be repeated for each person on your chosen schedule, and a missed one is invisible. Daily DBS runs the same free status check for everyone on your list every morning, with each person's consent recorded, and emails you the same day if the answer changes. That means your gap between checks is a day rather than months.
One honest limit: a daily check tells you the day the DBS confirms a change, not the day it happened. Because the DBS's own searches run weekly for convictions and barred lists, and every nine months for police information, nobody can tell you the day something occurred. And a status check still never shows you what the new information is: you need a new DBS check for that. The FAQs cover consent and what an alert means in more detail.
If you are weighing it up, the pricing page has a calculator that shows the cost of re-checking against monitoring, including the cases where we cost you more. There is a 14-day free trial, no card needed.
Two things that affect whether someone can be checked at all
- They have to be on the Update Service. The person joins themselves, either when they apply or within 30 days of the certificate being issued. It costs the individual £15 a year, and is free for volunteers. See what changed in DBS fees from 5 October 2026. An employer can pay for it, but the subscription stays the individual's to manage.
- Their certificate has to be at the right level. An old certificate for a different role may not meet your entitlement, even if the person is on the service.
Sources
- DBS Update Service: employer guide, GOV.UK, updated 5 October 2026.
- DBS Update Service, GOV.UK.
Daily DBS is independent and is not part of the DBS or the UK Government. This guide summarises the DBS's published guidance in plain English. It is not legal advice, and the DBS guide is the authority if there is any difference.