A DBS check discloses criminal history, but exactly what it reveals depends on which level of check is carried out. A Basic check shows only a narrow slice of a person’s record. A Standard check goes much further. An Enhanced check is the most comprehensive and can also include information that has never resulted in a conviction.
This guide explains what appears on each level of DBS certificate, how spent and unspent convictions work, what the filtering rules remove, and what does not appear on a DBS check under any circumstances.
The Three Levels and What Each Covers
There are three levels of DBS check: Basic, Standard, and Enhanced. Each one discloses a different amount of information, and the level you need depends on the nature of the role you are applying for, not your employment status.
A Basic DBS check is the most limited. It searches the Police National Computer and returns only convictions that are currently unspent. It does not show cautions, warnings, reprimands, spent convictions, or any local police intelligence. Anyone can apply for a Basic check independently through GOV.UK.
A Standard DBS check goes further. It shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, and final warnings recorded on the Police National Computer. It is used for roles involving a degree of trust or authority that do not constitute regulated activity.
An Enhanced DBS check is the most detailed. It includes everything on a Standard check and may additionally include relevant information held by local police forces. For roles involving regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults, it can also include a check of the DBS Barred Lists. This is the level of check that most clients and commissioning bodies require when engaging self-employed workers who work unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults.
What Shows on a Basic DBS Check
A Basic DBS check searches the Police National Computer (PNC) and returns only unspent convictions. An unspent conviction is one where the rehabilitation period set under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 has not yet elapsed.
If you have no unspent convictions, the certificate will show as clear. This does not mean you have no criminal history; it means that any convictions you have are either spent or were never recorded on the PNC at all.
Basic checks do not show cautions, conditional discharges, reprimands, final warnings, or any police intelligence held locally by individual forces. For most roles in education, care, childminding, or any work involving unsupervised contact with children or vulnerable adults, a Basic check does not provide sufficient assurance and clients will almost always request a higher level.
Basic checks are not processed through self-employed-dbs.co.uk and do not require a registered platform to countersign. Applications can be made directly via GOV.UK. The statutory fee is £21.50.
What Shows on a Standard DBS Check
A Standard DBS check searches the Police National Computer for a broader range of records. It discloses spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands, and final warnings. Unlike a Basic check, it does not restrict results to unspent records only.
A caution is a formal warning given by the police to someone who admits an offence and agrees to accept the caution rather than being prosecuted. Cautions do not result in a conviction, but they are a formal admission of guilt and are recorded on the PNC. They appear on Standard and Enhanced checks and may also appear on Basic checks while they remain unspent.
Reprimands and final warnings are the youth equivalents of cautions, used for offenders under 18. They are recorded on the PNC and disclosed on Standard and Enhanced checks.
Standard checks are used for roles that require a degree of trust but which do not involve regulated activity. Examples include certain legal roles, accountancy positions involving access to client funds, and positions of authority over adults in non-care settings. For roles with children or vulnerable adults in a self-employed capacity, a Standard check is usually insufficient; clients will expect an Enhanced check. More detail on which level applies to specific self-employed roles is available on the self-employed DBS checks hub.
What an Enhanced DBS Check Shows
An Enhanced DBS check includes everything disclosed on a Standard check and adds two further potential sources of information: chief officer disclosures and, where appropriate, barred list checks.
Chief officer information, also called soft intelligence or local police information, refers to information held by individual police forces that has not necessarily resulted in a conviction or charge. A chief officer of police can choose to disclose this information if they consider it relevant to the role. The applicant is notified in advance if a chief officer intends to disclose information of this kind, and they have a right to make representations to the Independent Monitor before the certificate is issued.
The chief officer disclosure is what makes an Enhanced check materially different from a Standard check. Two people with identical PNC records could receive different Enhanced certificates if one of them has locally held police intelligence that a chief officer considers relevant.
The Enhanced check can also include a check of the Children’s Barred List, the Adults’ Barred List, or both, where the role involves regulated activity. The barred list element confirms whether the applicant is legally prohibited from working with the relevant group. For self-employed workers in roles such as private tutoring, care work, or childminding, this is typically the level of check that clients and parents expect to see. More detail on Enhanced checks is available on the Enhanced DBS check page.
Spent and Unspent Convictions
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 provides that convictions become spent after a set period of time, which varies depending on the sentence imposed. The rehabilitation period starts from the date of conviction, not the date the sentence ends.
Once a conviction is spent, the person is treated in most circumstances as if the conviction never happened. They are not required to disclose it on job applications or insurance forms. However, for roles that require a Standard or Enhanced DBS check, spent convictions remain disclosed on the certificate unless they have been filtered under the DBS filtering rules.
The rehabilitation periods vary widely. A fine for an adult offender becomes spent after one year from the date of conviction. A custodial sentence of more than four years is never spent. For young offenders, the periods are shorter. Sentences of more than four years, sentences for sexual offences, and certain other serious sentences remain unspent indefinitely and will always appear on DBS certificates.
It is worth understanding that a conviction being spent does not remove it from a Standard or Enhanced DBS check. It removes it from a Basic check and from general disclosure obligations, but the DBS system is specifically designed to disclose spent convictions for roles involving trust and responsibility with vulnerable groups.
Cautions, Reprimands, and Final Warnings
A caution is not a conviction, but it is a formal admission of guilt recorded on the PNC. There are two types issued to adults: a simple caution and a conditional caution. A simple caution is issued once, with no conditions attached. A conditional caution requires the recipient to comply with specified conditions.
Cautions appear on Standard and Enhanced DBS certificates. They may also appear on Basic checks while they remain unspent. However, cautions for minor offences may be filtered off a DBS certificate after a set period under the filtering rules, unless they relate to offences on the list of offences that are never filtered.
Reprimands and final warnings are the youth equivalents, used for offenders under 18 at the time of the offence. They are recorded on the PNC and disclosed on Standard and Enhanced checks. The same filtering rules that apply to adult cautions also apply to youth reprimands and final warnings, with some differences in the applicable time periods.
It is important to note that accepting a caution has long-term implications for DBS disclosures, particularly for anyone who works or intends to work in a role requiring a Standard or Enhanced check. This is not information that disappears quickly from a DBS certificate.
The DBS Update Service
The DBS Update Service is an annual subscription that keeps a DBS certificate current after it has been issued. Rather than applying for a new check each time you change roles or take on a new client, you register your certificate with the Update Service and anyone who needs to verify your status can check it online.
The subscription costs £16 per year and is available for Standard and Enhanced checks only. Basic certificates cannot be registered with the Update Service. You must register within 30 days of the date printed on the certificate. If you miss this window, you will need to obtain a new check before accessing the service.
For self-employed workers who take on multiple clients across the year, the Update Service is particularly practical. A single current certificate satisfies most clients without the need to apply repeatedly. A client or parent checks your status online and receives a confirmation that the certificate is current and unchanged, which is sufficient for the majority of engagements.
More detail on the Update Service, including how to register and when it is worth the annual cost, is covered in the broader self-employed DBS checks hub.
What Does Not Appear on a DBS Certificate
Several types of information do not appear on a DBS certificate under any circumstances.
Arrests that did not result in a charge, caution, or conviction are not disclosed as a matter of record on any DBS certificate. However, for Enhanced checks, locally held police intelligence relating to an arrest may be disclosed at a chief officer’s discretion if considered relevant to the role. This is not an automatic disclosure and is subject to the applicant’s right to make representations.
Civil matters, including county court judgments, bankruptcy, divorce proceedings, and civil disputes, do not appear on DBS certificates. DBS checks are criminal record checks. They draw on criminal justice system records only.
Convictions and cautions that have been successfully filtered under the DBS filtering rules do not appear on Standard or Enhanced certificates. Once filtered, they are treated as not having been disclosed.
Fixed penalty notices and penalty charge notices are not criminal convictions and do not appear on a DBS certificate. A parking fine, a speeding fine paid by fixed penalty, or a council tax penalty notice are all civil or administrative matters and are not recorded on the PNC.
Overseas offences are not automatically included. The DBS checks UK criminal record databases. Offences committed and convicted abroad are not routinely part of a DBS check, although in some cases information may be held on the PNC if it has been shared through international law enforcement channels. For roles where overseas history is relevant, applicants may be asked to obtain a separate overseas criminal record check.
Common Questions About What Shows on a DBS Check
- Does a DBS check show driving offences?
It depends on the offence and the level of check. Minor motoring offences such as speeding fines dealt with by fixed penalty notice are not criminal convictions and will not appear. Drink driving convictions, however, are criminal convictions and will appear on a Standard or Enhanced check if they are unspent, and on a Basic check regardless. Once a drink driving conviction becomes spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, it will no longer appear on a Basic check, but will still show on Standard and Enhanced checks until it is filtered.
- Do arrests show on a DBS check?
An arrest that did not result in a charge, caution, or conviction does not appear on a DBS certificate as a matter of record. However, on an Enhanced check, a chief officer of police may choose to disclose relevant information held locally, which could in some circumstances relate to an arrest. This is a matter of police discretion, not an automatic disclosure.
- How long does a conviction stay on a DBS check?
A conviction stays on a DBS certificate indefinitely until it becomes eligible for filtering under the DBS filtering rules. The filtering period depends on the type of conviction, the sentence, and the age of the person at the time. Some serious convictions are never filtered and will always be disclosed. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 sets out the periods after which most convictions become spent, but becoming spent does not remove them from Standard or Enhanced checks.
- Will a caution show on a DBS check?
A caution will show on a Standard or Enhanced DBS check. It will not appear on a Basic check once the filtering rules have been applied, provided it is not on the list of offences that are never filtered. Simple cautions issued to adults for minor offences may be filtered after a set period. Conditional cautions, youth cautions, and cautions for serious offences may remain disclosed for longer.
- What is the difference between a spent and an unspent conviction?
An unspent conviction is one where the rehabilitation period set under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 has not yet passed. A spent conviction is one where that period has elapsed. Basic checks show only unspent convictions. Standard and Enhanced checks show both spent and unspent convictions, subject to the filtering rules.
- Can an Enhanced check show information that is not a conviction?
Yes. An Enhanced check may include information disclosed at the discretion of a chief officer of police. This is called chief officer information or soft intelligence, and it refers to information held locally by a police force that the chief officer considers relevant to the role. It does not need to relate to a conviction or charge. The applicant is notified if such information is to be disclosed and has a right to make representations before the certificate is issued.
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 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. Apply online with digital ID verification available.