Getting an Enhanced DBS Check When You're Self-Employed
Since 21 January 2026, self-employed people in England and Wales can apply for an Enhanced DBS check for the first time, without needing an employer or agency to apply on their behalf. This guide explains what an Enhanced check shows, who now qualifies, and how the process works.
What Is an Enhanced DBS Check?
A DBS check is a criminal record check issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service. There are three levels: Basic, Standard, and Enhanced. Each reveals progressively more about a person’s background.
An Enhanced DBS check is the most thorough level available. It shows all spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, and final warnings, along with any relevant information held locally by police forces. Where the role involves working with children or vulnerable adults, it can also include a check against the Children’s Barred List, the Adults’ Barred List, or both.
Barred list checks are only available where the role constitutes regulated activity: paid, unsupervised work with children or vulnerable adults on a frequent, intensive, or overnight basis.
Who Needs an Enhanced DBS Check?
An Enhanced DBS check is required, or strongly expected by clients, in any role that involves regular unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable adults. For self-employed workers this typically includes private tutors, carers, childminders, nannies, therapists, music teachers, sports coaches, and personal trainers working one to one with under-18s.
In many cases the requirement is not statutory but practical. Parents, schools, care providers, and local authorities increasingly ask self-employed workers to produce an Enhanced DBS certificate before engaging them. Being unable to provide one often means losing the work.
Even where no formal requirement exists, holding a current Enhanced DBS check removes a common barrier to engagement and gives clients the confidence to hire you.
Can Self-Employed People Apply for an Enhanced DBS Check?
Until January 2026, the answer was no. Self-employed individuals could only obtain a Basic DBS check, which shows unspent convictions only. An Enhanced check required an employer or organisation to countersign the application, leaving self-employed workers with no independent route to obtain one.
A Statutory Instrument laid before Parliament on 20 November 2025 changed this. It amended Part V of the Police Act 1997 and came into force on 21 January 2026. Since that date, paid self-employed individuals working in regulated activity in England and Wales can apply for an Enhanced DBS check, or an Enhanced check with barred list checks, through a registered platform.
This route applies to paid self-employed work only. Volunteers are not covered.
How to Get an Enhanced DBS Check as a Self-Employed Person
Applying for an individual DBS check as a self-employed person follows five steps. The process is the same whether you need a Standard, Enhanced, or Enhanced with Barred List check.Â
Check eligibility
You must be paid and in a qualifying role. Volunteers are not covered.
Register an account
Self-employed applicants cannot submit directly to the DBS.
Complete application
Personal details, 5 years of addresses, and your role information.
Verify your identity
Digitally via biometric passport or EU ID card, or with standard documents.
Receive your certificate
Posted directly to you. Show the original to your client or parent.
What the Enhanced Check Reveals
A standard self-employed Enhanced DBS check shows all spent and unspent convictions, cautions, and reprimands, any relevant information held by local police that a chief officer considers appropriate to disclose, and barred list status where the application includes a barred list check and the role qualifies.
A Basic check shows only unspent convictions. It does not reveal spent convictions, cautions, or barred list status. For anyone working with children or vulnerable adults in a self-employed capacity, a Basic check is insufficient and will not satisfy most clients or commissioners.
How to Get an Enhanced DBS Check as a Self-Employed Person
Self-employed applicants cannot apply directly to the Disclosure and Barring Service. Applications must go through a registered platform authorised to countersign Enhanced check applications on behalf of individuals.
At self-employed-dbs.co.uk, the process is fully online. You register an account, complete your application with five years of address history and your role information, verify your identity digitally using a biometric passport or EU ID card, and submit. The DBS processes the check and posts the certificate directly to you. No employer is needed at any point.
The self-employed Enhanced DBS check page covers eligibility in full, including which roles qualify and what type of check applies.
How Long Does an Enhanced DBS Check Take?
Standard Enhanced DBS checks typically come back within two to four weeks, though many are returned sooner. Checks that require additional police enquiries can take longer. There is no guaranteed fast-track service for Enhanced checks.
If you need to keep your certificate current for ongoing work, the DBS Update Service allows clients to check your certificate status in real time for £16 per year, removing the need to reapply every time you take on a new client.
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.
Ready to apply for your DBS check as a sole trader?Â
Self-employed-dbs.co.uk processes Enhanced and Standard DBS applications for self-employed workers in England and Wales. No employer needed.