The current DBS identity checking guidelines have been mandatory for every organisation since 1 November 2025, and the previous 2021 guidelines can no longer be used for any new application. These updated guidelines first came into effect on 22 April 2025. Both applicants and employers must follow them for every DBS check made today.
This guide explains what changed and what applies now, for two audiences: applicants who need to know which documents to provide, and employers and HR teams who need to follow the correct verification process. Checks.co.uk is a UK Government-listed Responsible Organisation and applies the current DBS ID checking guidelines to every application it processes.
The 2021 framework had become outdated in three main ways. It required a separate verification route for non-UK nationals, which created inconsistency. It contained a document list that excluded digital identity methods now in common use. And it required one document to show a current address, which created a barrier for applicants who were between permanent homes.
The April 2025 update resolved all three issues. It standardised the process so that nationality no longer changes the route, modernised the accepted document list to include digital identity evidence, and removed the current-address document requirement. Fraud protection standards were maintained throughout.
Those three problems were resolved through five specific changes to the guidance (GOV.UK, DBS ID checking guidelines, updated April 2025). Each change is explained in full below.
Non-UK nationals previously followed a separate verification pathway under the 2021 guidelines. That distinction no longer exists. Every applicant for a Standard or Enhanced DBS check now follows the same three-route process, whatever their nationality.
This removes the risk of an employer applying the wrong route to an international applicant and simplifies the process for everyone involved.
Basic DBS checks do not use the three-route system at all. They have their own separate ID checking guidelines, also effective 22 April 2025, built on a two-route framework.
Most competitor guidance covers only the three-route update and misses this point entirely.
Any organisation processing Basic DBS checks must refer to the Basic check ID checking guidelines specifically, not the Standard or Enhanced guidelines. The full Basic check document is published separately on GOV.UK.
Applicants no longer need to provide a document that shows their current address. The April 2025 guidelines removed this requirement.
The change helps anyone between permanent addresses, staying temporarily with others, or in transitional housing, who previously struggled to complete this step.
Identity must still be verified through the correct document groups, but the single address-document requirement has gone.
Several new documents were added to the accepted list (GOV.UK, DBS ID checking guidelines):
Two further documents were also added to the Group 2b list. The complete current document lists are published on GOV.UK and should be consulted directly, as they may be updated over time.
The April 2025 guidelines formally recognise video link as an alternative to face-to-face identity checking, with three specific options now available.
Those options are covered in full in the next section. The guidelines also incorporate digital identity verification technology, known as IDVT, for Standard and Enhanced checks.
This allows employers who use an approved Identity Service Provider, or IDSP, to complete identity checks digitally.
Three identity verification routes apply to Standard and Enhanced DBS checks, and they work as a hierarchy rather than as a free choice. Option 1 is the default and must be used wherever possible. Options 2 and 3 are not interchangeable, and each may only be used where the option before it is genuinely unavailable.
Face-to-face checking is the default route and must be used wherever possible, with the identity checker viewing original physical documents in person.
The applicant provides one Group 1 document, such as a passport or an eVisa shared through the Home Office View and Prove service, plus two further documents from Groups 1, 2a, or 2b.
Checks.co.uk, as a Responsible Organisation, follows these verification procedures for every DBS application it processes.
Video link checking is permitted only where face-to-face verification is genuinely impossible.
The applicant shows their original physical documents through a live video call, for example on FaceTime or Google Meet, displaying each document clearly to the identity checker. The same document groups apply as for Option 1.
The identity checker must record the specific reason why an in-person check could not take place.
Option 3 applies only in exceptional circumstances where both face-to-face and video link verification are impossible, and it must never be treated as a routine remote checking route.
The organisation has to record specific reasons for using it and show, through a documented risk assessment, that the decision was appropriate.
An organisation that cannot evidence its justification for Option 3 risks falling outside the current DBS ID checking guidelines.
Because the eVisa is now an accepted Group 1 document under Option 1, it needs a verification method of its own, distinct from physical documents.
The applicant requests an immigration status share code through the Home Office View and Prove service at gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status.
The employer or identity checker then uses that share code to view the applicant’s immigration status directly on the official GOV.UK platform.
The checker must confirm that the information is being viewed on an official gov.uk web address before accepting it. A paper printout of an eVisa record is never an acceptable substitute for the online share code check. If an applicant has lived or worked outside the UK, see our guide on DBS checks for overseas applicants for the additional steps employers should consider.
A separate change, which took effect on 29 September 2025, requires organisations carrying out DBS identity checks to keep their verification records for a minimum of 24 months (DBS updated guidance, September 2025).
Most competitor guidance on the April 2025 changes omits this requirement, because it was announced separately. The DBS may ask to see these records during a compliance audit, so organisations must be able to produce them on request.
Each record must include:
Where physical copies of documents cannot be stored, all of this information must instead be recorded in writing and kept for the same 24-month period.
Using out-of-date guidelines has direct consequences. Applications that rely on the 2021 guidelines now risk being rejected by the DBS, and repeated or systemic non-compliance puts an organisation’s registration as a Registered Body or Responsible Organisation at risk (DBS guidance on Registered Body and Responsible Organisation obligations).
Every organisation must apply the current April 2025 guidelines to all new DBS applications, regardless of the check level. The previous 2021 guidelines are not acceptable for any application made today.
Checks.co.uk is a UK Government-listed Responsible Organisation, registered in England and Wales under company number 15076484 and registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under reference XB691512.
It applies the current DBS ID checking guidelines to every application it processes. Apply through Checks.co.uk and you will be guided through the correct identity verification process for your check level.
The updated DBS ID checking guidelines took effect on 22 April 2025 and became mandatory for all organisations on 1 November 2025. The previous 2021 guidelines are no longer acceptable for any new DBS application. All Registered Bodies, Responsible Organisations, and employers conducting DBS checks must now follow the current framework.
The documents required depend on your check level. For a Standard or Enhanced check under Option 1, you provide one Group 1 document plus two further documents from Groups 1, 2a, or 2b. Group 1 now includes a passport, an eVisa shared through the Home Office View and Prove service, a Biometric Residence Permit, and an Application Registration Card. The full current list is published on GOV.UK.
Yes, but Basic DBS checks use a separate two-route ID checking process, not the three-route system that applies to Standard and Enhanced checks. The DBS published separate guidance documents for Basic checks and for Standard or Enhanced checks in April 2025. Organisations processing both must apply the correct guidance document for each check level.
No. The requirement for one document to show your current address was removed under the April 2025 guidelines. You no longer need to provide an address document as part of your DBS identity verification. This change benefits applicants who are between permanent addresses or in temporary accommodation.
Yes, but only where face-to-face verification is not possible. Option 2 permits checking through a live video call, such as FaceTime or Google Meet, where an in-person check cannot take place, and the checker must record why. Option 3 applies only in exceptional circumstances where both face-to-face and video link checks are impossible, and it carries stricter justification requirements.
Under DBS guidelines that took effect on 29 September 2025, organisations must retain identity verification records for a minimum of 24 months. Each record must include the document type, country of issue, expiry date, reference numbers, and any discrepancies noted. Where physical copies cannot be kept, all of these details must be recorded in writing instead.
An eVisa is a digital record of a person’s immigration status held by the Home Office, added to the Group 1 document list under the April 2025 guidelines. To use it, the applicant generates an immigration status share code through the Home Office View and Prove service at gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status. The identity checker then verifies the share code directly on GOV.UK, rather than accepting a printout.
Applications that rely on the 2021 guidelines now risk being rejected by the DBS. Persistent non-compliance also puts an organisation’s status as a Registered Body or Responsible Organisation at risk. Every organisation must apply the current April 2025 guidelines to every new DBS application it processes, whatever the check level.