How Long Should I Wait for my DBS Check?
Most places of employment require you to have a DBS Check. This could be for a job in healthcare, an accountants, in social work, or in a school, amongst many different professions. You will need your DBS Certificate before you can start work.
Whilst if you’ve been in previous employment you may need to give up to a month’s notice, most people are keen to get started in their new position. When you’re waiting for your DBS Certificate to arrive before you can start a job, even if you know you’ve never committed a crime at all, the wait can be frustrating and worrying.
However, thousands of DBS Checks are conducted annually, so it is natural at times there may be a backlog and it can take some time.
Typically, How Long Does It Take to Receive a DBS Certificate?
It varies depending on many different things. Where you live in the UK can affect the turnaround time. Whether the place receiving it has a large volume of requests, a backlog, or a staff shortage. If you have a complex address history, the DBS Check will need to contact different police forces to see if they hold information on you. If the form hasn’t been filled out correctly this can slow down the process. Typically, though there is an aim for you to receive your DBS Certificate within four weeks. Some DBS Checks will be completed much faster than that, within a week.
Why Might There be Delays in Receiving my DBS?
- If there is missing information or incorrect information on your application – so, do be really careful to triple-check your form for any errors before sending it off.
- If you have a complex address history and have moved many times in the past five years, then the application form, will be passed onto the police force in every area that you have lived, to do a thorough comprehensive check.
- If there are several people who have the same name as you, this can delay the process, ensuring that they are indeed checking the information for the right person’s criminal history.
- If there is more information required for your application, this could cause delays.
An Adult First Check
If you are waiting for your DBS Check to come back and wanting to get on with a job working with vulnerable adults, for example in a care home, then your employer can ask for an Adult First Check. These Checks are processed in 2 days. In the Adult First Check, your name will be checked against the Barred List for working with vulnerable adults. Either there will be no match, and you can likely start work after this, whilst waiting for your DBS Certificate. But if they do find a match the employer would need to wait until your DBS Certificate arrives in case you are on a Barred List and shouldn’t be working with vulnerable adults, due to previous behaviour which may have been abusive, neglectful, or violent. If you know you have never committed a crime, then try not to be too concerned about this, it could just be that the Adult First Check has matched someone with the same name as you, in your area, but that will be resolved.
What if I Haven’t Received my Certificate After 4 Weeks?
You could get back in touch with DBS after this time, to enquire what is happening with your certificate. They may be able to offer a reprint if it appears to have become lost in the post, providing you asked the certificate to be sent to the correct address. Doing your DBS Check online will speed up any issues or queries you have about it, so wherever possible this is always advisable.
So, in summary, ensure you’ve done everything you can correctly with the form at the start, to prevent delays down the line. Allow more processing time if you have a complex address history. Leave 4 weeks to receive your certificate. But employers may be able to request an Adult First Check if this is applicable to your job role, so you can start work, whilst waiting for your DBS Certificate to arrive.
