What we do

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA).

DBS is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office.

Read more about what we do

Documents

Our announcements

  1. GDPR is here

    • News story

  2. Announcing the new UK Criminal Records Trade Body (CRTB)

    • News story

See all our announcements

Our publications

  1. DBS update service: applicant guide

    • Guidance

  2. Handling of DBS certificate information

    • Guidance

See all our publications

Our statistics

  1. DBS dataset 5: police disclosure unit performance

    • Official Statistics

  2. DBS dataset 2: response times for complaints, enquiries and disputes

    • Official Statistics

See all our statistics

Our management

Contact DBS

DBS disclosure service

DBS customer services
PO Box 3961
Royal Wootton Bassett
SN4 4HF

Go to the DBS online tracking service to check on the progress of an application. Tracking an application is much quicker online. The link to this service is available at the top of this homepage.

The phone line is open 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 10am to 5pm on Saturday. You may be asked some security questions to verify your identity. All calls to this number are recorded for training and security purposes.

If emailing us, please include your full name, address telephone number and, if relevant, any DBS references numbers in your correspondence. We cannot guarantee the security of information until it is in our possession, and will not take responsibility for such information until we receive it.

DBS certificate disputes

PO Box 165
Liverpool
L69 3JD

Contact us if you think your DBS certificate is wrong. This can include incorrect personal details, incorrect conviction information or other discrepancies. If you receive a DBS certificate with a conviction that doesn't relate to you, you should also inform the person who requested that you complete the form as soon as possible.

The phone line for certificate disputes is open 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday only.

Sensitive applications

Sensitive applications team
Customer services
PO Box 165
Liverpool
L69 3JD

Transgender applicants are protected in legislation and are not obliged to include details indicating a previous gender in their application form.

The DBS has a process in place which allows any details indicating a previous gender to be checked without being disclosed on the completed certificate.

They are, however, required by law to provide all name details to the DBS in their current and any previous identity. Deliberately withholding this information may be an attempt to prevent conviction information being revealed and is an offence.

If emailing, we cannot guarantee the security of information until it is in our possession, and will not take responsibility for such information until we receive it.

DBS barring

DBS barring
PO Box 3963
Royal Wootton Bassett
SN4 4HH

We cannot guarantee the security of information until it is in our possession, and will not take responsibility for such information until we receive it. For this reason we recommend submitting referrals via our secure online referral form, however if you are using a paper referral form we recommend using registered post.

You can also use Webchat on DBS online services to contact us about any general enquiries.

FOI requests

DBS Freedom of Information Officer
Policy Department
PO Box 165
Liverpool
L69 3JD

If you wish to submit a new request under the Freedom of Information Act please contact the DBS.

Most requests are free of charge but you may need to pay a small amount for photocopies or postage. When you submit a request we'll let you know if you have to make a payment.

DBS legal services

DBS legal services
Stephenson House
Alderman Best Way
Darlington
DL1 4WB

Address to be used for the service of legal documents.

DBS does not accept service by email.

Make an FOI request

  1. Read about the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and how to make a request
  2. Check our previous releases to see if we’ve already answered your question

Corporate information

Jobs and contracts

Read about the types of information we routinely publish in our Publication scheme. Find out about our commitment to publishing in Welsh. Our Personal information charter explains how we treat your personal information.