Form

DBS paper barring referral form

Where possible, you should make barring referrals using the online Barring Referral Service. If you need to make your referral by paper, guidance and forms are below.

From:
Disclosure and Barring Service
Published
10 May 2013
Last updated
6 November 2025 — See all updates

Documents

DBS online barring referral service guidance

HTML

DBS paper referral form guidance

HTML

DBS paper referral form (Word)

MS Word Document, 226 KB

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email customerservices@dbs.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

DBS paper referral form (PDF)

PDF, 186 KB, 8 pages

DBS paper referral form additional information sheet (Word)

MS Word Document, 43.5 KB

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email customerservices@dbs.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

DBS paper referral form additional information sheet (PDF)

PDF, 482 KB, 1 page

Details

Submitting an online barring referral takes around an hour.

The service is available Monday to Sunday, 8am to 11:30pm.

To submit an online barring referral to DBS, you’ll need the following:

  • your contact details
  • details of the person being referred
  • contact details for other agencies involved in investigating relevant conduct
  • details of the risk of harm, or harm suffered
  • documents in support of your referral, such as statements, reports, meeting minutes, or other evidence from your disciplinary investigation

If you have these details, submit a referral quickly and securely via our online service.

Get help with your referral

Telephone: 03000 200 190

Welsh language: 03000 200 191

Relay UK: If you have difficulty with your speech or hearing, dial 18001 then 03000 200 192

Convo: If you are a British Sign Language (BSL) user, you can use Convo to connect to DBS via an Interpreter.

International: +44 (0)151 676 9390

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (except public holidays).

Find out about call charges.

If you need to submit a paper based referral for accessibility reasons, download the paper forms above.

Updates to this page

Published 10 May 2013
Last updated 6 November 2025 show all updates

  1. A guidance document about the online referral route has been added, to accompany the paper referral guidance.

  2. Updated hyperlinks within the form guidance.

  3. Updated the declaration. It states that we may share information within the form to it with the person who has been referred or with other bodies such as the police, professional regulators, prison and probation services in accordance with statutory powers or duties.

  4. Updated the referral form. Includes an extra question about address history and a new question asking if the person been informed of their referral to us.

  5. Added the contact details for the referral and barring team.

  6. Added page link to the referral factsheets.

  7. Updated the DBS referral form with a new version.

  8. First published.

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