Does MY DBS Certificate Have an Expiry Date?
As part of the recruitment process for most jobs, people are frequently requested to complete a DBS Check application. Many people wonder if these DBS Certificates have an expiry date. Do they run out? Is there a date by which they’re no longer valid? This article will explore this topic and give you the answers.
Is There an Expiry Date for DBS Certificates?
There is not an expiry date for DBS Certificates. When a DBS Certificate is issued, it will show the date it was issued, but it will not contain an expiry date.
The information on a DBS Check is only 100% accurate at the time it was issued, because any moment after that time, the person could potentially have committed an offence and have been given a caution, warning, reprimand, or conviction.
But they can be a useful part of recruitment for many employers, and most employers (aware that they’re only accurate at the time produced) tend to do new DBS Checks on new employees, so that they have the most up to date information available; rather than use a pre-existing DBS Check from another organisation.
Some businesses too, have part of their policy to renew their employees’ DBS Checks every 2-3 years, so that they’re kept up to date.
How Often Should DBS Checks be Renewed?
The purpose of a DBS Check is to ensure that people are trustworthy to work in certain job roles. They need to be safe around customers, staff and pose no threat of risk to the business.
It is entirely up to the business to make the decision as to how often they renew their staff DBS Checks. Some companies may wish to do this every 6 months, others may wait 2-3 years. If the business has a regulating body, such as Ofsted, or the Care Quality Commission (CQC) then they would need to follow their recommended DBS renewal periods. Ofsted would apply to anyone working in nurseries or schools and people would need an Enhanced DBS Check for this. The Care Quality Commission would apply for people working with adults or children and again an Enhanced DBS Check is necessary.
Some jobs that include regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults may need to be checked more frequently, to ensure that their name has not been added to the Barred Lists, after the initial check.
If someone has changed their job role within an organisation, this may necessitate an updated DBS Check, for example if a Barred List for working with vulnerable adults had been checked previously, but the employee was now moving to working with children, the Barred List for children would then need to be checked.
To summarise, DBS Checks don’t expire, but employers may have their own DBS Check policy for how often they want these renewed. Some regulatory bodies, such as Ofsted or CQC have their own policies for DBS Check renewals. If an employee changes job, they may need a new check for the new job. If a person will be working in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults, the relevant Barred Lists will need to be checked.
