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What Is The DBS Advanced Check?
We often get people calling up asking about Advanced DBS checks for their staff, but if this is how you’ve found this page, you’ve made a little mistake!
The actual term is ‘Enhanced DBS Check’, so it’s easy to see why 500 Britons search for ‘Advanced DBS Check’ on Google every month – they do sound very similar.
Now that that’s out of the way, here’s everything you need to know about getting Enhanced / Advanced DBS checks for your team.
What Is An Enhanced / Advanced DBS Check?
DBS checks are criminal record background checks, used by employers to make informed hiring decisions, and safeguard their staff and clients. Enhanced DBS Checks are the most detailed level of DBS check possible for an employer to get on an applicant. We’ll go over a few FAQs below:
Who needs an Enhanced / Advanced DBS check?
It can be requested only in specific instances and is necessary for duties, positions, and licences which are included in ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975) and the Police Act 1997 regulations.
In plain English, this means that Enhanced / Advanced DBS checks are required for any roles that involve working with children (under-18s) or Vulnerable Adults (over-18s in receipt of care or treatment due to age, illness, or disability).
If you have a role that is eligible for an Enhanced DBS check, then it is actually a legal requirement to view the Enhanced DBS certificate of any staff who will be working in that role, before they start work in the role.
What do Advanced DBS checks show?
Once the DBS and the police have carried out the Enhanced DBS Check, a disclosure certificate will be posted to the applicant’s current address. This certificate will display all of the applicant’s UK convictions & cautions whether they are spent or unspent. It will also include any additional information the police have on file that they deem relevant to the role being applied for. This is known as Local Police Information, and only comes into play very infrequently.
If required for the role, the check will also include checks of the Adults’ Barred List, the Children’s Barred List, or both. These don’t cost any extra, and legally must be requested if the role is eligible for them. If they are requested, then the applicant’s certificate will disclose whether they are forbidden from working with under-18s or Vulnerable Adults.
How To Get Enhanced / Advanced DBS Checks
Advanced DBS checks can only be requested by organisations on behalf of their employees, volunteers, or candidates for a role. It is not permitted to apply for an Advanced DBS check for yourself, so they cannot be obtained by individual applicants acting for themselves.
First, you’ll want to make sure the role the DBS check is required for is actually eligible for an Enhanced DBS check. There are a lot of steps and nuances to this, so the best thing to do if you’re uncertain would be to visit the government’s eligibility checker, or feel free to give our team a call on 0113 877 0171 (or email contact@aaronsdepartment.com) and we’ll be happy to advise on what level of check your role is likely to require.
All that’s left to do is register your organisation (for free) with Aaron’s Department and start your online applications!
How long do Advanced DBS checks take?
Enhanced / Advanced DBS checks take on average 7–12 days for the certificate to be returned, but it’s a wide margin, with some being completed much sooner, and some unlucky applicants taking much longer. In these cases, the police carrying out the check will not accept any requests to escalate the check until 60 days have passed without any progress.
As an Umbrella Body, Aaron’s Department is responsible for processing applications rather than carrying out the criminal record checks, but we’re certainly quick with our part! All applications we receive before 4:00pm on a weekday, we process & forward to the DBS on the very same day (for no extra charge, unlike many of our competitors).
How Much Do Advanced DBS Checks Cost?
Enhanced DBS Checks at Aaron’s Department Cost just £49.50, plus a small admin fee of £10.95 (+ VAT). The admin fee can be reduced by making bulk Admin Fee payments in advance. You save us time by doing this, so we pass the savings onto you!
You can read more about our Advance Check prices on the Pricing Page.
Why Get DBS Advanced Checks With Aaron’s Department?
At Aaron’s Department, we’ve been doing DBS Checks for a long, long time, which means we’ve learnt how to do it best! Using feedback from our User’s, the system has been built around those who use it, to ensure everything is as simple and easy as can be.
On top of this, a small selection of benefits include:
> Built in tracking system of your DBS Advanced Checks
> A direct connection to the UK Government gateway
> Free-of-charge registration
> Professional and knowledgeable customer support
> An error-correcting system which corrects mistakes as you go.
> Eligibility guidance, both on our website and through customer support.
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About The Author
John Schofield-Antoncich
John has processed more applications than days he has been alive, and has become the DBS expert. Got a question? He knows the answer!