DBS

Introduction

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks the criminal records background of people who wish to work with children and vulnerable groups.

Please note: This information is for new students. If you are a student returning to a course or with a deferred/resit placement, please contact the Programme Administration (PAD) team.

Getting your DBS check

There are four elements to getting your DBS check:

1. Before you can begin the DBS application process, we must first confirm your Nationality and your Right to Work in the UK. Please Note that your Right to Work is seperate from you proving your Right to Study. As such, failure to complete this step will delay your DBS application. The DBS Team may be able to verify your right to work using existing information on your student record. However, if this is not possible the DBS Team will contact you to provide the required evidence of Right to Work.

2. Complete our online application form. You need to pay the DBS fee at this stage unless you are coming to do certain specific professional Health courses (see ‘Is there a cost for this?’ below)

3. Have your identity verified by providing certain ID documents.

4. Receive your DBS certificate.

If you wish to join the DBS Update Service as well, you can do so after either point 3. or 4: please see below and the 'Update Service' link at the bottom of this page for further information.

You will be sent instructions in an email on completing our online DBS application. Please bear in mind the following: -

You must apply for your DBS check via the University of Cumbria, not another organisation.
Basic level DBS checks (which you can now obtain yourself as an individual) will not be acceptable.
Checks obtained via Disclosure Scotland or Access Northern Ireland will not be acceptable, unless we have specifically asked you to obtain this type of check: this applies only to Return to Practice applicants doing their clinical experience in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Evidence of Right to Work for DBS

As part of the requirements for us to process a DBS Check we are required to confirm your Right to Work in the UK. The DBS Team may be able to verify your right to work using existing information on your student record.

Please Note: We cannot begin your DBS application without confirming your Right to Work in the UK. As such, failure to complete this step will prevent you from starting your DBS application.

You must provide evidence of your Right to Work in the UK using one of the following options:

A current or expired Passport showing that you are a British Citizen (This does not include British Nationals Overseas, British protected persons, British Subjects, British Overseas Territories or British Overseas Citizens).

A Birth or Adoption Certificate from the UK, The Channel Islands or The Isle of Man. This must be accompanied by an official letter or document from a government agency (for example HM Revenue and Customs, Department for Work and Pensions, or the Social Security Agency in Northern Ireland) or previous employer, showing their name and National Insurance number

A current or expired Irish Passport or Passport Card.

A Birth or Adoption Certificate from Ireland. This must be accompanied by an official letter or document from a government agency (for example HM Revenue and Customs, Department for Work and Pensions, or the Social Security Agency in Northern Ireland) or previous employer, showing their name and National Insurance number.

A Share Code for the ‘Prove your right to work to an employer’ service as part of the EU Settlement Scheme showing you have settled or pre-settled status (using the online service here Prove your Right to Work)

A Share Code for the ‘Prove your right to work to an employer’ service via which you will have registered your Biometric Residence Permit or Biometric Residence Card Number (using the online service here Prove your Right to Work)

A current Passport (any nationality) endorsed to show that you are allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK.

A current Passport (any nationality) endorsed to show that you are allowed to stay in the UK and are currently allowed to work/study.

You will need to upload your evidence to your Applicant ICON Portal under the ‘Documentary evidence of Right to Work’ option so that this can be processed by a member of our team.

Once your Right to Work in the UK has been confirmed, the DBS Team will either contact you regarding the next steps for your DBS application, or you will be sent an automated email to begin the online DBS application form via the University of Cumbria.

If you cannot provide one of the options above, or if you have any questions regarding how to prove your Right to Work in the UK, please contact the DBS Team

Having your identity verified

There are different options open to you according to where you live:

Mainland UK and Northern Ireland: applicants will be asked to go to your nearest participating Post Office. Please be aware that not all Post Office branches offer the service required: for further information please see the guidance in Providing ID Documents. You should take care when searching the Post Office's Branch Finder for one that offers the service required, as there are three similar options. The only compatible one is called 'CRB & ID Verification Service': please see Providing ID Documents for more information.

You must check the Post Office's Branch Finder before you travel, as advised above. There may be changes to some branches in terms of opening hours or services offered.

Isle of Man; Channel Islands; Isles of Scilly and all overseas countries, including Republic of Ireland: applicants will be asked to go to an appropriate professional local to you. Please see Providing ID Documents for more information.

You can view the list of acceptable ID documents here.

We encourage you to register with the DBS update service

You can join the Update Service (if you wish) a day or so after you have completed the application form and had your identity documents verified.

Make sure you receive your certificate

Finally - you need to be in receipt of your DBS certificate: please look out for this in the post. It will be posted to you by the DBS; it does not come via or from the University.
You can also join the Update Service now, on receipt of your certificate, within a limited time.

What you need to know

Do I need to do a DBS check?

Yes - if this was specified in your offer as a requirement for your course. All applicants to relevant courses must complete a DBS check through the University of Cumbria, unless you have an existing DBS check that meets our requirements and are registered with the Update Service. This applies to overseas as well as UK students-even if you have never lived in the UK.

Relevant courses are those that contain some element of practical experience working with children or other vulnerable groups.

Is there a cost for this?

Yes – unless you are doing a professional Health course that used to be eligible for NHS-funding. The University of Cumbria DBS fee for 2022/23 starters is £58.00 and you can pay this online at the time of submitting your application.

Applicants to a professional Health course that used to be eligible for NHS-funding do not need to pay: please note that BSc Paramedic Science, MSc Physiotherapy, MSc Midwifery and MSc Nursing were never NHS-funded, so applicants to these Health programmes will be liable for the DBS fee.

To avoid confusion, please also be aware that Social Work is not a professional Health course.

I have (or think I may have) a criminal record: what do I do?

You need to submit a Criminal Record Self Disclosure Form now if this applies to you and you have not sent it in already. For more information on this and the form itself, please refer to Self-disclosure of criminal record.

You also need to do your online DBS application and have your ID verified as soon as possible, to allow maximum time for our clearance procedure. You cannot be DBS-cleared (and, therefore, complete this Admissions check requirement) until we have seen your DBS certificate at the end of the process, so it is important that you submit your online DBS application as early as possible.

Is there a time frame to do the DBS application?

Yes - you must complete the online application and have your ID documents verified as soon as possible, once you receive the email to do so. Remember that the order in which you do these two things will be reversed if you live in mainland UK but cannot get to a participating Post Office to have your ID verified. The DBS process can take several months to be completed.

If the result is not through by the time you start the course, you will be able to register, but your registration status will be affected by any outstanding admissions conditions, and this will prevent the release of your student loan. You may also not be able to start placement if your DBS result is outstanding.

What if I have made an error or omission in my personal information once the DBS application has been submitted?

The DBS is no longer able to amend an applicant’s personal information on the application form, once it has been submitted

The sections of the application form affected are:

Section A – Your current and previous names
Section B – Your current address
Section C – Five-year address history.

Enhanced DBS check applications that are submitted with omitted or incorrect information regarding these sections will be withdrawn by the DBS, and a new application will need to be submitted.

The DBS will not refund the cost of a withdrawn application, as such we are unable to provide a refund.

Where an omission, as detailed above, is found, the University of Cumbria’s DBS Team will contact you. If you are concerned that you may have submitted an application with ommitted or incorrect information, please contact the DBS Team directly to discuss this.

What happens after I've submitted the application?

Once you have submitted the online DBS application and had your ID checked we send the DBS application electronically to the DBS for processing–this should be completed within a couple of weeks but can take longer in the event of any discrepancies in information or queries. The process is not complete until the DBS has issued your certificate. For those applicants with a criminal record, there is also a clearance process that we need to complete.

If there are any queries or problems with your application, we will contact you. If this happens you need to respond promptly, because outstanding queries halt the DBS process.

Once your certificate is issued you need to look after it carefully: if you lose it, it cannot be replaced nor a copy obtained, from us or from the DBS. You also need to bring it with you to university: some placements ask to see it or will ask for the reference number on it. You do not need to show your copy of the DBS certificate to the University (unless you have a criminal record): we receive electronic notification of the check from the DBS.

Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) DBS