DBS Check Guide

If you are volunteering with children, vulnerable adults, or in certain other settings, you may need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. But the rules can be confusing, there are different levels of check, and not every role requires one. This tool tells you whether your volunteering role needs a DBS check, which level (basic, standard, or enhanced), whether it should be free for volunteers, how to apply, and how long the process takes. It also explains what happens if you have a criminal record.

Start Here

Not sure if you need a DBS check for volunteering? Answer a few questions about the role and find out what level of check is needed, how to apply, and how long it takes.

1 What does the volunteering involve?

2 Will you be unsupervised with children or vulnerable adults?

3 Do you have any criminal convictions or cautions?

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This tool provides general guidance about DBS checks for volunteers. Requirements can vary by organisation. The DBS checking service (gov.uk/dbs) and the organisation you are volunteering with can give definitive answers for your specific role.

What this tool does

This guide helps you work out whether your voluntary role needs a DBS check, and if so, which level applies. Volunteers are treated slightly differently from paid staff under the DBS rules, so the answer is not always the same as it would be for an employee doing similar work.

You will get a plain English summary covering the level of check (basic, standard or enhanced), whether it should be free, how to apply, and roughly how long it takes to come back.

When to use it

It is aimed at people starting a volunteering role, or thinking about one, who have been told they might need a DBS check and want to understand why. That could be helping at a school, a youth club, a sports team, a charity shop, a food bank, a care home, a hospital, a church group, or a community project. It is also useful if you run a small group or charity and need to work out what checks your volunteers should have.

The rules hinge on what the role actually involves, such as whether you will be in regulated activity with children or adults, rather than the job title. That is often where people get stuck, and it is what the questions are designed to sort out.

How it works

You answer a short set of questions about the role, for example who you will be working with, how often, and whether you will be unsupervised. The tool then tells you what level of check is likely needed, whether the organisation should cover the cost for volunteers, who has to request it (you cannot apply for a standard or enhanced check yourself), and what to expect if you have something on your record. Your answers are not saved, and you do not need to sign up or give your name. If your situation is unusual, the result will point you to the relevant official guidance or suggest speaking to the organisation you are volunteering with.

2 Comments

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VoluntaryWorker Editor 10 Jul 2026

@Frankie From what you've described, your role sounds purely custodial with no regulated activity involving children or vulnerable adults, so legally you don't need a DBS at all. If you wanted one for peace of mind, a Basic check is the only one you could apply for yourself, as Standard and Enhanced have to be requested by the organisation and require eligibility. Worth asking the charity if they have a safeguarding policy that requests one anyway, as some do as a matter of course.

Frankie 10 Jul 2026

I work as a voluntary Caretaker at a building, which is an old school, used and managed by a non - profit charitable voluntary organisation. A number of activities are held at this building, which requires me to set up the rooms with tables and chairs in a L shape or in a row, sign post people which room their activities are in, deal with face to face enquiries individuals and or tutors may have, open and close the building, and pack away items in the room. Do I need a basic, standard or enhance DBS or non at all?

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