How much does a DBS check cost?
The DBS check cost varies depending on who you are using to carry out the check!
If you’re an employer getting checks for your staff, it’s only possible to get DBS checks via a 3rd-party provider, like Aaron’s Department. These providers set their own administration fees, so the price can vary.
At Aaron’s Department, we take pride in not overcharging for DBS checks, as we know how important they are, and believe these safeguarding measures should be affordable for all.
If you need a DBS check for yourself, it’s only possible to get a Basic – you can request a Basic DBS check via DBS-Check.co.uk.
Table of Contents
How Much is A DBS Check?
A DBS check is split into two fees:
The DBS fee (charged by the Government for carrying out the check) and the Admin fee (charged by the Umbrella Body processing the check).
| Disclosure Type | DBS Application Fee (No VAT) | Admin Fee (+VAT) | Total (Excluding VAT) | Total (Including VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic DBS Check | £21.50 | £5.45 | £26.95 | £28.04 |
| Standard DBS Check | £21.50 | £8.75 | £30.25 | £32.00 |
| Standard DBS Check (Volunteer) | £0 | £8.75 | £8.75 | £10.50 |
| Enhanced DBS Check | £49.50 | £10.95 | £60.45 | £62.64 |
| Enhanced DBS Check (Volunteer) | £0 | £10.95 | £10.95 | £13.14 |
Every check submitted to us includes free fast tracking. Submit your application before 4pm on a weekday, and it will be processed and sent to the DBS the very same day.
How To Reduce The DBS Check Cost
At Aaron’s Department, it is possible to reduce the cost of your DBS checks with our free admin credit scheme.
Here’s how it works: when you pay over £200 in admin fees via bank transfer, we’ll reward you with a percentage back—completely free. By using this, you can heavily discount the DBS check cost!
| Deposit Amount | Free Credit Returned |
|---|---|
| £200 – £399.99 | 10% |
| £400 – £599.99 | 20% |
| £600 – £799.99 | 30% |
| £800 – £999.99 | 40% |
| £1000+ | 50% |
For example, if you deposit £400, we’ll add an extra £80 to your account—for free! That’s the equivalent of 7 Enhanced DBS checks (with money left over) without paying a single penny of admin fees!
How do we compare?
If you’ve been shopping around for DBS checks, you’ll already know that our prices are extremely competitive. DBS checks are a legal requirement for many employers (and a desirable extra for many others), so it’s important to find a DBS check provider that offers great value.
DBS Check Costs: The Government Fee
The biggest portion of the DBS check cost is the government application fee (sometimes called the DBS fee). It will need paying to whichever Umbrella Body you decide to use, and they will transfer it to the government once the application is sent to the DBS.
Government DBS Fees are as follows:
Basic DBS Check Cost: £21.50
Standard DBS Check Cost: £21.50
Enhanced DBS Check Cost: £49.50
Adult First Cost: £6
If a volunteer requires a Standard or Enhanced check, then no government fee is charged – the only DBS check cost they’ll have to cover is the Umbrella Body’s admin fee. Have a look at our Volunteers Page to find out whether you or your staff qualify.
DBS Check Costs: DBS Admin Fee From The Umbrella Body
The admin fee is what an Umbrella Body charges you for using their services, such as their online system, customer support, checking the application form, and countersigning DBS applications.
Developing an online DBS system takes time and effort, especially to make one as robust, polished, and user-friendly as ours! Thankfully, though, our excellent system and high level of service isn’t reflected in our charges. You can view our pricing page using the buttons below:
DBS Check Cost – How To Avoid Overpaying
There are a lot of different DBS check providers out there – deciding which to use can be difficult. Here are some things to look out for when comparing the DBS check costs for different Umbrella Bodies:
Check the listed Government DBS Fees
When it comes to the Government Fee portion of the DBS check cost, you should not be charged more than £49.50 for Enhanced checks, or £21.50 for Basic and Standard checks.
Less-scrupulous Umbrella Bodies often add a few extra pounds to the government fees, which should obviously be a huge red flag!
High Admin Fees
Will a DBS Umbrella Body that charges £40 be able to provide four times as much value compared to a £10 Umbrella Body? Absolutely not!
Some providers charge breathtaking fees, and rely on customers using them without doing any research.
Fast-track / Express Checking Fees
Some providers charge extra for an “express” service, where they make you pay more money for them to send off applications slightly faster.
If getting your staff certificates ASAP is a priority, consider using Aaron’s Department! We guarantee that all DBS Checks we receive before 4:00pm on weekdays will be processed and sent to the DBS the same day – with no extra charge.
Google Search Results
Just because a business appears at the top of the Google search results, it doesn’t mean they offer the best value-for-money service!
If you see a listing at the top of Google with the word “AD” or “Sponsored” next to it, give it a miss. It hasn’t appeared there because they provide the best service, or have the best price – Google simply sells the top positions to the highest bidder.
Avoid DBS Sign-Up Fees
Anyone in business should be more than happy to have you use their service, and definitely shouldn’t charge you for the pleasure of signing up.
At the end of the day, the main purpose of sign-up fees is to pressure customers into committing to using a service, whilst wringing a bit of extra money from them. Naturally, sign-up is free at Aaron’s Department, and only takes a few minutes.
Where Can You Get The Cheapest DBS Checks?
Below, we’ve given a few examples of the prices that other organisations charge, and compared them to our own. To avoid any embarrassment that may occur from this comparison, we have left the names of the firms out, but a quick search of “dbs checks” on Google will bring them up.
All prices listed represent the cost of applying for a single DBS check, with the admin fee shown in bold. This admin fee is the charge for their part in processing the check, and is separate from the fixed government price.
Competitor 1
Basic DBS Check
£21.50 with an £12.00 +VAT Admin Fee
Standard DBS Check
£21.50 with an £12.00 +VAT Admin Fee
Enhanced DBS Check
£49.50 with an £12.00 +VAT Admin Fee
Competitor 2
Basic DBS Check
£23 with a £45.00 +VAT Admin Fee
Standard DBS Check
£23 with a £45.00 +VAT Admin Fee
Enhanced DBS Check
£40 with a £45.00 +VAT Admin Fee
Naughty naughty! Competitor 2 has charged extra on the fixed government fee!
Competitor 3
Basic DBS Check
£21.50 with a £47.50 +VAT Admin Fee
Standard DBS Check
£21.50 with a £16.00 +VAT Admin Fee
Enhanced DBS Check
£49.50 with a £16.00 +VAT Admin Fee
Aaron’s Department (That’s Us!)
Basic DBS Check: £21.50 with a £5.45 +VAT Admin Fee
Standard DBS Check: £21.50 with an £8.75 +VAT Admin Fee
Enhanced DBS Check: £49.50 with a £10.95 +VAT Admin Fee
This chart compares the different admin fees, and as you can see, they’re lowest by far at Aaron’s Department:
What does the chart show?
That’s a lot of variation in price for the same job doing. We could have made the table bigger to accommodate our competitor’s growing costs, but frankly, it’s our table, and we still sit comfortably at the bottom of it. And to be clear, we haven’t cherry-picked! All of these Umbrella Bodies show up on page 1 of the Google results, with prices readily available.
What’s going on with Competitor 2?
Competitor 2 was a sponsored post, which means they’ve paid Google to appear at the top of the search results. Not only are their prices sky-high, but they’ve even added a few extra quid onto the “fixed” government fee, which they’ll no doubt be pocketing.
Presumably, their business model relies on people not doing their research properly and clicking the first link they see!
Cost Of A Basic DBS Check
At Aaron’s Department, a Basic check costs just £26.95 (£21.50 Gov. fee & £5.45+VAT admin fee), but this price can be reduced by paying for applications in bulk.
Cost Of A Standard DBS Check
We offer Standard DBS checks for £30.25 (£21.50 Gov. fee & £8.75+VAT admin fee), but this price can be reduced by paying for applications in bulk.
Cost Of An Enhanced DBS Check
You can get an Enhanced DBS check with us for £60.45 (£49.50 Gov. fee & £10.95+VAT admin fee), but this price reduced by paying for applications in bulk.
Honest DBS Check Costs with Aaron’s Department
Over many years, we have heavily focused on developing and improving our online system around our customers’ needs, ensuring we can provide an easy-to-use and affordable service.
Thanks to our efforts and experience, we’ve no need to charge over-the-top fees. It’s also why we have no sign-up fees, fast-track fees, contracts, or hidden costs – simply pay for the DBS Checks you want when you want them!
Interested in our services? Our team is available Monday to Friday, 8:00am until 5:00pm, on 0113 877 0171 (or email contact@aaronsdepartment.com) to help answer any DBS check cost enquiries you may have.
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Further Reading
If you’ve found this page useful for your research, you might find these handy too:
– Our fast-track promise
– The DBS Update Service
– DBS checks for Charities
About The Author
Matthew Dugdale
Matthew is our go-to when it comes to all things related to Recruitment & DBS checks. His experience and expertise helps make sure that everyone gets the correct level of check.
how much will it cost for a enhanced DBS check for 1 of my employee’s please
Hi Neil,
Enhanced DBS Checks cost £49.50 (Government fee) plus £6.95 (Admin fee).
You can read about our prices here: https://www.aaronsdepartment.com/dbs-check/dbs-online-price.php or feel free to give our team a ring on 0113 877 0171 to discuss!
Hello
I am very frustrated by matrix system, government body and those in power, that orders what we can and cannot do. Why individual cannot apply for enhanced DBS check. Why it has to be through organisation, umbrella body? This does not even make sense….
Hi Magdelena,
There’s a lot of complicated rules and procedures when it comes to DBS Checks. Umbrella Bodies have already done all the hard work in understanding these, meaning that other’s don’t have to waste their time doing the same.
Imagine if anyone was allowed to apply for a DBS without properly understanding the rules – this would cause massive (and I mean MASSIVE!) delays with the DBS, as they would have to reject and reply to thousands upon thousands of applications.
Umbrella bodies like ourselves have utilised our knowledge by investing in creating a software application, meaning that any mistakes that will cause a DBS to be rejected will be found before the application is sent off. By having a team of experienced DBS checkers on your side, you can rest assured that you won’t be wasting your time or money.
Are dbs checks any cheaper for people on low benefits
Hi Alicia,
The price of a DBS check is the same for everybody.
Hi. I need an enhanced DBS check for a franchise business I have bought. Can you do this? Thanks
Hi Donna,
I’ll get a member of our team to email you some information!
Does your enhanced check cover baring list ?
Hi Nish,
Yes, upon request (and when the applicant is eligible), a check of the Adult and/or Children Barring list can be done!
Good morning I trying find out how to set up renewal my DBS I have got my checks done and got the certificate but miss the renewal button for the auto renewal
Hi Stewart,
A member of our team will be in touch with you to sort it all out!
I need enhanced dbs certificate for taxi driver please
Hi Maqsood – I’ve got our Support team to email you over some details. Please let us know if you need anything else.
If anyone else reading this would like to get DBS checks for their staff, you can do so by registering here: https://www.aaronsdepartment.com/dbs/index.php/index_controller/sign_up