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. As part of the DBS application process, we must confirm your Nationality and your Right to Work in the UK. We are unable to process your DBS until you have provided your right to work evidence. Please see our 'Providing Evidence of Right to Work for DBS' for full details on what ID documents you need to provide.

Please Note: We must also see the originals of the documents you have supplied and will contact you with a time for you to meet colleagues to do this. For the majority of you will do this in welcome week or on the first day of teaching. If you need to supply us with a Share Code the DBS team will contact you directly.

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.

Providing ID 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.

The ID Evidence you need to provide will be different depending on your Nationality. Please read the options below to see what ID Evidence you are required to provide:

If you are a British Citizen born within or outside the UK:

Provide a clear copy of your UK Passport. This must be in your current legal name.

If you do not have a Passport, please supply your Birth or Adoption Certificate from the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. This must be accompanied by one of the following:

A Letter from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) e.g. a Tax or benefit letter.
A Letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) e.g. a pension letter, income benefit letter or job seekers letter.
A Letter from the Social Security Agency in Northern Ireland.
A document or letter from a current or previous employer e.g. a pay slip, P45 or P60.

This letter or document must show your name and National Insurance Number.

If you are a British National born outside the UK whose Nationality is one of the below:

A British National Overseas (BNO)
A British Overseas Territories Citizen (BOTC)
A British Overseas Citizen
A British Subject
A British Protected Person

Provide a copy of your current passport along with evidence of your UK Immigration Permission, for example your BRP card/visa vignette. Please upload this evidence to your applicant portal.

You also need to provide a ‘Prove your right to work to an employer’ share code available here. Once you have uploaded the above documents, email your share code to dbsapply@cumbria.ac.uk

If you are currently living outside the UK, you will not be able to supply the share code until you have entered the UK.

If you are an Irish National:

Provide a clear copy of your Irish Passport or Irish Passport Card. This must be in your current legal name

If you do not have a Passport, please supply your Birth or Adoption Certificate from Ireland. This must be accompanied by one of the following:

A Letter from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) e.g. a Tax or benefit letter.
A Letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) e.g. a pension letter, income benefit letter or job seekers letter.
A Letter from the Social Security Agency in Northern Ireland.
A document or letter from a current or previous employer e.g. a pay slip, P45 or P60.

This letter or document must show your name and National Insurance Number.

If you are an EU, EEA or Non-EEA National, including Swiss Nationals. (Other than British and Irish Nationals):

Please upload to your applicant portal your valid International Passport plus evidence of your UK Immigration Permission, for example BRP card, visa vignette, share code (EU/EEA nationals).

You also need to provide a ‘Prove your right to work to an employer’ share code available here. Once you have uploaded the above documents, email your share code to dbsapply@cumbria.ac.uk

If you are an international student on a UK Student Visa you will not be able to provide your right to work evidence and start your DBS check until you have arrived in the UK and receive your BRP/Share code (EU/EEA).

Please Note:

We are unable to process your DBS until you have provided your right to work evidence. If you are unable to supply the required documents, please contact the DBS team at dbsapply@cumbria.ac.uk and the team can discuss what documents you have.

We must also see the originals of the documents you have supplied and will contact you with a time for you to meet colleagues to do this. For the majority of you will do this in welcome week or on the first day of teaching. If you need to supply us with a Share Code, the DBS team will contact you directly.

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