If you are self-employed and a client has asked you for a DBS check, the process is more straightforward than it might appear. Since January 2026, self-employed workers can apply for Enhanced and Standard DBS checks directly, without needing an employer to apply on their behalf.
This guide walks through exactly how the application works, what you need to have ready, and what to expect once your application has been submitted.
Who Can Apply Through This Route
The self-employed application route is available to paid workers in England and Wales who carry out regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults.
Regulated activity is defined in law as work that involves close, unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable adults on a frequent or intensive basis. It covers roles such as private tutoring, personal care, childminding, therapeutic work, sports coaching with under-18s, and similar positions. If your work requires clients, parents, or commissioning bodies to see a DBS certificate, it is almost certain that it qualifies as regulated activity.
Two conditions must be met. First, your work must be paid. This route does not apply to volunteers. Volunteer DBS checks remain available through a separate process via the organisation you volunteer with. Second, you must be genuinely self-employed. Employees whose work involves regulated activity are DBS-checked by their employer, not through this route.
The January 2026 change, made through a Statutory Instrument amending Part V of the Police Act 1997, closed a long-standing gap in the law. Before that date, paid self-employed workers had no legal route to an Enhanced check at all. They were limited to a Basic DBS check, which shows only unspent convictions and falls well short of what most clients working with children or vulnerable adults expect to see. That restriction no longer applies.
If you are unsure whether your specific role qualifies, the self-employed DBS checks hub covers eligibility in more detail.
Which Check Do You Need?
Before you start your application, it is worth confirming the level of check your clients or sector require. Applying for the wrong level means the certificate will not satisfy the requirement, and you will need to apply again at additional cost.
There are two levels relevant to most self-employed workers.
A Standard DBS check shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, and final warnings held on the Police National Computer. It is used for roles that carry a degree of trust but do not constitute regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults.
An Enhanced DBS check includes everything in a Standard check, plus any relevant information held by local police forces. This additional element, known as chief officer information, can include intelligence that has not resulted in a conviction but which a local police chief officer considers relevant to the role. For roles involving regulated activity, an Enhanced check is the expected standard.
An Enhanced check can also include a check against the Children’s Barred List, the Adults’ Barred List, or both. These lists, maintained by the Disclosure and Barring Service, contain the names of individuals who are legally prohibited from working with children or vulnerable adults in regulated activity. For most roles with children, the Children’s Barred List element will be required. For roles with vulnerable adults, the Adults’ Barred List applies. Some roles require both.
If a client or parent has simply asked you for a DBS check without specifying the level, ask them to confirm before you apply. In practice, anyone working unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults will almost always need an Enhanced check. For full detail on what each check shows, see the Enhanced DBS check page.
What You Need Before You Start
Having the right documents ready before you begin your application will make the process faster and reduce the chance of delays at the identity verification stage.
You will need identity documents that confirm your name, date of birth, and current address. The DBS operates a tiered document checking system. At least one document must confirm your identity through a photograph, and you will also need documents confirming your address history for the past five years.
The most straightforward combination is a valid passport or photocard driving licence as your primary identity document, supported by a recent utility bill, bank statement, or correspondence from HMRC dated within the last three months as proof of current address.
You will also need your National Insurance number. If you do not have this to hand, it will be on previous payslips, a P60, a letter from HMRC, or your Personal Tax Account on GOV.UK. You cannot complete the application without it.
You will need to provide details of every address you have lived at over the past five years, in date order. If you have moved frequently, having this information ready before you begin avoids having to stop partway through the form.
Self-employed-dbs.co.uk uses digital ID verification as part of the application process. This means you can complete the identity check online without posting physical documents or attending a verification appointment in person. You will need a device with a camera, typically a smartphone or laptop with a built-in webcam, to complete this stage. The digital verification process is guided and takes most applicants only a few minutes.
How to Apply Step by Step
The application process through self-employed-dbs.co.uk follows these stages.
- Create your account. Register at app.self-employed-dbs.co.uk. You will need a valid email address. The account registration takes under two minutes.
- Select your check type. Choose Standard or Enhanced. If your role involves children or vulnerable adults, select Enhanced. If a barred list check is required, select the appropriate option during this step.
- Complete your application form. You will be asked for your personal details, your five-year address history, and information about the role you are applying for. Every field must be completed accurately. Errors or missing information are the most common cause of delays once an application is with the DBS.
- Complete digital ID verification. Follow the on-screen instructions to verify your identity using your photo ID document and a camera-enabled device. Verification is typically completed within a few minutes.
- Review and submit. Before your application is submitted, you will have the opportunity to review everything. Payment is taken at this stage, covering the statutory DBS fee and the processing fee. No charge is made before this point.
- Application submitted to the DBS. Once payment is confirmed, your application is countersigned and submitted electronically to the DBS. You will receive a confirmation email and can track progress from your account.
- Certificate issued. Your DBS certificate is sent to you by post to the address provided on your application. Most Enhanced checks are completed within a few weeks, though timescales can vary depending on local police force involvement.
Once you receive your certificate, you have 30 days to register for the DBS Update Service if you want to keep it current for future clients. This is covered in more detail below.
What a Countersignatory Does and Why It Matters
One of the features that distinguishes an Enhanced DBS check from a Basic check is that it requires a countersignatory. A countersignatory is an organisation registered with the Disclosure and Barring Service that is authorised to verify and submit Enhanced and Standard applications on behalf of individuals.
This is why self-employed workers could not obtain an Enhanced check before January 2026. Without an employer or another registered body to act as countersignatory, there was no lawful route for an individual to make the application. The January 2026 change created a specific new route that allows registered platforms to countersign on behalf of self-employed applicants directly.
When you apply through self-employed-dbs.co.uk, we act as the countersignatory on your behalf. This covers the verification of your application, the review of your identity documents, and the electronic submission of your application to the DBS through the e-Bulk system used by registered organisations.
You do not need to find your own countersignatory or approach any separate organisation. The entire process, from account registration to submission, is handled through this platform.
The countersignatory role carries regulatory responsibility. Only organisations registered with and approved by the DBS can countersign Enhanced applications. Applications submitted through a registered platform meet the DBS’s requirements in full, which means the resulting certificate is exactly equivalent to one obtained through an employer. The certificate itself shows no distinction between a self-employed applicant and an employed one. Clients, parents, and commissioning organisations cannot tell the difference, and there is none. Both carry the same DBS reference format, the same level of disclosure, and the same legal standing.
This matters because some self-employed workers have previously been told by clients that they cannot apply for an Enhanced check independently. Since January 2026, that is no longer accurate. The route now exists, and it produces a certificate that is legally and practically identical to any other Enhanced DBS certificate.
What Happens After You Submit
Once your application has been submitted, the DBS processes it through a series of checks. These include a search of the Police National Computer and, for Enhanced checks, contact with local police forces across England and Wales to identify any relevant intelligence held locally.
You can log into your account at any time to see the current status of your application. The DBS updates its tracking system as your application progresses through each stage. You will also receive email notifications at key points in the process.
If your application is straightforward with no relevant information to disclose, it will typically move through the process without manual review taking additional time. If local police forces need to consider whether to disclose additional information under the chief officer provision, this extends the processing time. The DBS does not provide guaranteed timescales, and it is not possible to know in advance whether a particular application will require this additional review.
If the DBS has any queries about your application, they will contact you directly. The most common causes of delays are incomplete address history, discrepancies in name or date of birth, or documents that raised questions at the identity verification stage. Completing your application accurately and in full is the most effective way to avoid unnecessary delays.
Your certificate is sent by post to the address on your application once processing is complete. There is currently no option to receive a purely digital version of the certificate from the DBS. Clients can, however, verify the status of your certificate online if you are registered with the DBS Update Service.
How Long Does It Take?
There is no fixed timescale for a DBS check. The DBS processes applications at its own pace and does not operate a guaranteed turnaround service for Standard or Enhanced checks.
Standard checks, which involve a search of the Police National Computer only, are typically faster than Enhanced checks. Enhanced checks require contact with local police forces across England and Wales, and the time taken depends in part on the response times of those forces.
Most Enhanced checks are completed within a few weeks. Applications that are flagged for additional review by a local police force under the chief officer provision can take longer. The DBS publishes indicative processing statistics, but these are averages and do not reflect the timescale for any individual application.
Digital ID verification, which is built into the application process here, removes one of the most common early-stage delays. Applications that reach the DBS with fully verified identity information and complete address history progress more quickly than those requiring additional follow-up.
If you need your certificate by a specific date, build in as much lead time as possible. Once an application is with the DBS, there is no mechanism to expedite it. Starting early is the only reliable approach.
Registering for the DBS Update Service
The DBS Update Service is an optional subscription that keeps your DBS certificate current indefinitely for £16 per year, paid directly to the DBS.
Once you are registered, a prospective client can check the live status of your certificate online. They will see either a confirmation that your certificate remains valid and unchanged, or a prompt that a new check is required. For self-employed workers dealing with multiple clients, this means one certificate and one annual subscription covers all of them. You do not need to apply for a separate check with each new engagement.
There is a strict 30-day window from the date your certificate is issued to register. If you miss this window, you will need to apply for a new check to join the service. It is worth setting a reminder to register as soon as your certificate arrives.
Registration is done directly through the DBS. You will need the certificate reference number from your physical certificate to complete the registration. The annual subscription renews automatically and can be cancelled at any time.
The Update Service is available for Standard and Enhanced certificates only. Basic DBS certificates are not eligible. For more on the costs involved throughout this process, see the DBS check costs page.
Common Questions About Applying
- Can I apply for a DBS check if I work part-time or on a casual basis?
Yes. The route is available to any paid self-employed worker carrying out regulated activity, regardless of hours worked. The test is whether your work is paid regulated activity, not how many hours a week you do it.
- Do I need a new DBS check for every client?
No. One certificate covers all of your self-employed work, provided you register for the DBS Update Service within 30 days of receiving it. Clients can then check your status online rather than requiring a new certificate each time.
- What if I have a criminal record?
Having a criminal record does not automatically prevent you from working or from making an application. The DBS certificate discloses information; it does not make employment decisions. The decision about whether to engage you rests with the client or organisation. Some offences appear on certificates regardless of age, while others are subject to filtering rules that remove them after a set period.
- Can I use a DBS certificate obtained through a previous employer?
Only if it is registered with the DBS Update Service and the subscription is still active. If so, a new client can check its status online. If it is not on the Update Service, or if the subscription has lapsed, a new application is required.
- What if I move address after submitting my application?
Your address at the time of application is what is used for the check. If you move after submitting but before receiving your certificate, update your contact details so the certificate reaches you at the right address.
- Does this apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. The self-employed DBS route introduced in January 2026 applies in England and Wales only. Self-employed workers in Scotland should apply through Disclosure Scotland. In Northern Ireland, the equivalent service is AccessNI.
This guide applies to self-employed workers in England and Wales only. Self-employed workers in Scotland should apply through Disclosure Scotland. In Northern Ireland, the equivalent service is AccessNI. This page is for guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have questions about your specific circumstances, contact our support team or consult a qualified legal adviser.
Apply for Your Self-Employed DBS Check
Self-employed-dbs.co.uk processes Standard and Enhanced DBS applications for paid self-employed workers in England and Wales. No employer needed. Digital ID verification. No payment until your application is ready to submit.