DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks are background checks used in England and Wales to help organisations make safer recruitment decisions. There are four main levels, each showing different information:

Basic DBS Check

• Shows: Only unspent convictions held on the Police National Computer (PNC).
• Does not show: Spent convictions, cautions, reprimands, warnings, local police information, or barred list information.
• Who can apply: Any individual for themselves or via an employer.
• Typical uses: Roles where only basic honesty or integrity needs confirming, e.g. retail, delivery, some financial services.

Standard DBS Check

• Shows: Both spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings recorded on the PNC (subject to filtering rules).
• Does not show: Local police intelligence or barred list information.
• Who can request: Employers/organisations, not individuals, and only for roles legally entitled to this level.
• Typical uses: Accountants, legal professionals, security roles not involving vulnerable groups.

Enhanced DBS Check

• Shows: Everything a Standard check shows plus any relevant information held by local police forces (for example, investigations, allegations, or intelligence considered pertinent).
• Does not show: Barred list information unless specifically requested; information irrelevant to the role should be excluded by police disclosure officers.
• Who can request: Employers/organisations entitled by law, for roles working closely with children or vulnerable adults.
• Typical uses: Teachers, healthcare professionals, social workers, foster carers.

Enhanced DBS with Barred List Check

• Shows: Everything an Enhanced check shows plus a check against the children’s barred list, the adults’ barred list, or both, depending on the role.
• Does not show: Information beyond the scope of police records and barred lists; filtering rules still apply for old/minor convictions.
• Who can request: Only for positions legally classed as “regulated activity” with children and/or vulnerable adults.
• Typical uses: School teachers, childcare workers, medical staff providing direct care, care‑home workers.

Filtering rules: Certain old and minor convictions/cautions are “filtered” and will not appear on Standard or Enhanced checks after a set period. The DBS filtering guidance defines exactly what is filtered and what is not.

We mark a case as Sealed when public access should be restricted. Typical reasons include:

• Active law‑enforcement investigation or court order limiting publication.
• Risk of identifying victims, minors, or vulnerable persons.
• Sensitive personal data (e.g., medical/educational records) that cannot be lawfully shared.
• Takedown requests that meet our safety, privacy, or defamation policies.

When sealed, we may hide or remove public content and limit visibility to authorised administrators.

We aim to share information responsibly. As a rule:

• Allowed (subject to review): screenshots, images, PDFs, and links that document publicly visible behaviour relevant to a case.
• Must be redacted: addresses, phone numbers, emails, account IDs, IPs, exact locations, dates of birth, bank/payment details, or any data that can identify minors or private individuals who are not public figures.
• Not permitted: doxxing materials, stolen/hacked data, intimate images, malware, instructions for wrongdoing, or content under a valid takedown/court order.

Where a case’s Sensitivity is set to Restricted, public viewers see server‑side blurred media, and some evidence may be withheld entirely.

We review reports and may remove or further redact materials to protect safety and comply with the law.

We combine server‑side blurring for restricted cases with manual redactions where necessary to remove sensitive details from images, documents, and logs. Public viewers cannot bypass server‑side protections to access unredacted files.

Please contact us via the site’s contact options with the case code, URLs, and a brief explanation. We will review within a reasonable timeframe and may request verification.

We may include URLs as evidence to provide context. External sites can change without notice and are outside our control. We may replace links with screenshots where appropriate.