Do driving instructors need a DBS check?
Yes, driving instructors usually need a DBS check or criminal record check if they are becoming, renewing or re-registering as an approved driving instructor (ADI). The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) uses criminal record information as part of its decision about whether someone is a fit and proper person to be on the ADI register.
There is a second question for self-employed instructors: can you get an enhanced DBS check to show parents, pupils, schools or other clients? In many cases, you may be eligible if your work involves regular instruction of children under 18. The right route depends on whether the check is for DVSA registration or for your own eligible self-employed work.
The short answer for driving instructors
If you charge for car driving lessons in England and Wales, you generally need to be either on the ADI register or hold a trainee driving instructor licence. DVSA expects ADIs to meet the fit and proper person test, and its current ADI register guide says criminal record information can come from an enhanced level DBS check, police information and barring information.
For practical purposes, there are two routes to understand:
- DVSA ADI route: used when you apply to become an ADI, renew your ADI registration or re-register after expiry. This is part of the official driving instructor registration process.
- Self-employed enhanced DBS route: used where an eligible self-employed instructor needs an enhanced DBS check for their own work, for example regular paid instruction of under-18 pupils or work arranged with schools, charities or other organisations.
Do not assume one certificate automatically replaces the other. If DVSA asks for a criminal record check for ADI registration, follow the DVSA process. If a school, parent or organisation asks about your DBS status, the level and workforce must still match the work you are doing.
Why the DVSA checks driving instructors
Driving instructors work one-to-one with pupils, often in a car and often without another adult present. DVSA treats the role as one that needs public confidence, professional conduct and road safety standards.
The ADI Registrar can consider motoring and non-motoring cautions, convictions, fixed penalties, disqualification, pending court proceedings, substantiated complaints and whether someone has been barred from working with children. Having a criminal record does not automatically stop someone becoming an ADI, but DVSA can look at relevance, seriousness, timing, patterns of behaviour and the risk posed to pupils.
Current DVSA guidance also says ADIs must tell the ADI Registrar within 7 days if they receive a caution or conviction, including penalty points, a binding over order, being put on the sex offenders register, or being banned or barred from working with children.
If you are preparing for ADI registration, read the official GOV.UK ADI register guide and follow the DVSA instructions. A private enhanced DBS application should not be used as a shortcut around the official ADI process.
When a self-employed instructor may need an enhanced DBS check
A self-employed driving instructor may be eligible for an enhanced DBS check where the actual work meets DBS eligibility rules. The most common example is regular instruction of children under 18.
DBS guidance on regulated activity with children includes teaching, training or instruction of children where the activity meets the frequency condition. In plain terms, if you teach under-18 pupils on more than 3 days in a 30-day period, the role may fall within regulated activity with children. Where that is the case, an enhanced DBS check with a Children’s barred list check may be appropriate.
If the work with under-18s is less frequent, it may still be work with children rather than regulated activity. That can affect whether the check is enhanced only or enhanced with a barred list check. This distinction matters because barred list information is only available where the role is legally eligible.
If your work is only with adult learners, an enhanced DBS check is not automatically available just because you are an instructor. The ADI registration requirements may still apply, but a separate self-employed enhanced DBS check needs its own eligibility basis.
You can read more about the type of information shown on an enhanced certificate in our guide to what an enhanced DBS check shows.
How to decide what check you need
Use these steps before applying. They reduce the risk of choosing the wrong route or requesting barred list information when the role is not eligible.
1. Separate ADI registration from client evidence
If the check is for becoming, renewing or re-registering as an ADI, follow DVSA’s process. If it is to evidence eligible self-employed work, consider the enhanced DBS route.
2. Identify who you teach
Work with under-18 learners can change DBS eligibility. Adult-only instruction does not usually support a separate enhanced DBS check by itself.
3. Check frequency and setting
Regular instruction of children may be regulated activity. Less frequent work may still be work with children, but without barred list eligibility.
4. Prepare your identity documents
Enhanced DBS applications need identity checks. Our guide to documents needed for a DBS check explains what to have ready.
5. Keep the certificate usable
If the check is eligible and you expect repeat requests, consider the Update Service within the 30-day joining window.
Parents, pupils and schools: what they can reasonably ask for
Parents and pupils often ask whether a driving instructor has been DBS checked. That is understandable, especially where a 17-year-old is taking lessons alone with an instructor.
A parent cannot usually obtain an enhanced DBS check on a self-employed instructor’s behalf. Current DBS guidance for self-employed people says the self-employed person applies through a DBS Umbrella Body if the role is eligible. Once the certificate arrives, the instructor can show it to people buying their services.
Schools, colleges, charities or local authorities may have their own safer recruitment process if they engage an instructor directly. In that situation, the organisation may request the check if it is legally entitled to do so. The organisation still has to choose the right level and workforce for the role.
For instructors, the safest approach is to be clear about what your certificate relates to. A useful explanation is: the certificate is for a particular level, workforce and role. A certificate for one role does not prove eligibility for every future role.
If you are not sure whether your work is eligible, our DBS eligibility check tool can help you decide what to check before applying.
What level of DBS check is relevant for driving instructors?
A basic DBS check can be requested for any role, but it only shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions. It does not provide the same level of information as an enhanced check and it does not include barred list information.
An enhanced DBS check is only available for eligible roles. It includes the information shown on a standard certificate and may also include relevant information held by police forces. Where the role is eligible for barred list information, an enhanced check can include a Children’s barred list check, an Adults’ barred list check, or both.
For driving instructors, the likely DBS outcome depends on the work:
- ADI registration and renewal sit within the DVSA process.
- Regular paid instruction of under-18s may support enhanced DBS eligibility in the child workforce, subject to the detailed conditions.
- Occasional work with children may be enhanced only, without barred list information, depending on frequency and circumstances.
- Instruction of adults only is not enough on its own for a separate enhanced DBS check, unless another eligibility route applies.
Self Employed DBS can only help with enhanced DBS checks. If your role only supports a basic check, you would need to use the basic DBS route instead.
Using the Update Service as a self-employed instructor
The DBS Update Service can be useful for self-employed driving instructors who work with several clients or organisations. It is only for standard and enhanced DBS certificates, not basic checks.
You must join within 30 days of the certificate issue date, or during the application using the application reference. The certificate can then be taken between roles only where the new role needs the same level and workforce, and where the organisation is legally entitled to carry out a status check. The organisation also needs your permission.
This means a driving instructor with an enhanced child workforce certificate may be able to use the Update Service for similar eligible work with children. It would not make the certificate suitable for a different workforce or a different level of check. It also does not override a new check if DVSA or an organisation requires one.
If you use the service, keep your original certificate safe. Organisations normally need to see it before checking the online status. Our guide to the DBS Update Service for self-employed workers explains the practical points in more detail.
This guide is for general information for England and Wales. DBS eligibility depends on the exact role, duties, frequency and workforce. It is not legal advice and does not guarantee that a particular level of DBS check will be available. DVSA ADI registration checks must be completed through the official DVSA route.
Need an enhanced DBS check as a self-employed driving instructor?
If your driving instruction work is eligible for an enhanced DBS check, Self Employed DBS can help you apply online. We cannot replace the official DVSA ADI criminal record check route, but we can support eligible self-employed enhanced DBS applications.
Check your role, prepare your ID documents and start your application when you are ready.