Criminal Record Checks in the UK

Lawful criminal-record checks in the UK

A criminal-record check must match the person, the purpose and the law. UKPI helps employers, organisations, solicitors and private clients understand which route is available, what permission is needed and what the result can properly be used for.

This service does not provide private access to police databases. Formal conviction information is obtained through an authorised disclosure route where the applicant and role are eligible. Other research is limited to lawful public sources and information the client is entitled to use.

Official disclosure and wider record research

DBS certificates

The Disclosure and Barring Service issues Basic, Standard and Enhanced certificates. A Basic certificate shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions. Standard and Enhanced certificates may include spent and unspent information, subject to eligibility and statutory filtering. Enhanced checks may include barred-list information where the role qualifies.

See the DBS checks page for application levels, identity requirements and the submission process.

Public-record research

Some instructions call for research beyond a DBS certificate. Depending on the lawful purpose, UKPI may review court judgments, regulatory findings, director records, insolvency information, sanctions lists, adverse media and other sources that are open or lawfully accessible. This is not the same as a police record search, and the report states the source and limits of each finding.

Who may need a criminal-record check

Employers and organisations may need checks for regulated work, safeguarding, financial responsibility or access to sensitive information. Solicitors may need verified public information for a case. A private client may ask what can lawfully be checked before allowing someone into a home or entering a serious personal arrangement.

The available route is different in each situation. A landlord, family member or private individual cannot automatically request a Standard or Enhanced DBS certificate. UKPI checks eligibility first and does not promise access that the law does not allow.

Spent and unspent convictions

Whether spent information can appear depends on the disclosure level, the role and the filtering rules. Basic checks show unspent convictions. Standard and Enhanced checks may disclose spent and unspent convictions and other permitted information, but protected convictions and cautions are filtered where the law requires.

UKPI will explain the level available before work begins. We will not describe a result as a full criminal history when the source does not support that claim.

Consent, identity and lawful use

A formal DBS application requires the applicant’s participation and identity evidence. Employers must also have a lawful reason for the level requested. Credit information, employment records and other personal data have separate consent and use requirements.

Before a check begins, UKPI records the purpose, confirms the subject’s identity as far as the evidence allows and agrees the sources that may be searched. If the proposed search is not lawful or the requested disclosure level is not available, we will say so.

How the service works

1. Initial call. You explain the decision you need to make and why criminal-record information may be relevant.
2. Route and eligibility check. UKPI confirms whether an official DBS application, public-record research or a different background service fits the case.
3. Identity and permission. We collect the information and authority required for the agreed route.
4. Search and review. The permitted sources are checked and any apparent match is reviewed against the subject’s identity.
5. Clear report. The result records what was searched, what was found, any uncertainty and the limits on use.

How long a check takes

Some routine checks can be returned within 24 hours once identity and permission are complete. Official DBS times depend on the disclosure level and the authorities involved. Cases with overseas history, common names or records that need manual confirmation take longer. UKPI gives an expected timescale after the scope is agreed.

Related checks

A criminal-record result rarely answers every question. Employers may also need pre-employment checks, reference verification or employee screening. Families considering a nanny or carer should use the dedicated nanny and carer checks service.

Discuss a criminal-record check

Tell UKPI who needs to be checked, the reason and the decision the information will support. We will explain the lawful route, likely fee, documents and timing before you commit.