DBS checks are among the most misunderstood parts of running a small charity. Some committees check everybody, whether or not the law allows it. Others check nobody, assuming that because they do not run a youth club the question does not arise. Both are understandable, and neither is quite right.
This guide covers England and Wales, where checks are made through the Disclosure and Barring Service. Scotland uses Disclosure Scotland and the PVG scheme, and Northern Ireland uses AccessNI. It is general guidance rather than legal advice, and eligibility rules in particular are detailed, so check the DBS's own guidance for your situation.
Does every trustee need a DBS check?
No. There is no general rule that charity trustees must have a DBS check, and for the more detailed checks there is a rule the other way: you may only ask for a standard or enhanced check if the role is legally eligible for one. Eligibility depends on what the person will actually do, not on how cautious the charity would like to be.
- A basic check shows unspent convictions and can be requested for any role.
- Standard and enhanced checks show more, and are only available for roles listed in the legislation. Some trustees are eligible because of the nature of their charity's work, typically where it works with children or with adults at risk.
The DBS publishes an eligibility tool and guidance on GOV.UK. Use it before you ask anybody to apply, because requesting a check a role is not eligible for is itself a problem.
What every trustee should sign
Separately from DBS, charity law disqualifies certain people from being a trustee: for example, people with certain unspent convictions, undischarged bankrupts, people on the sex offenders register, and people disqualified as company directors. The rules were widened in August 2018 to cover more offences and some senior staff roles as well.
Every new trustee should sign a declaration that they are not disqualified, and the charity should keep it. You can also check the public registers that are freely available, such as the Individual Insolvency Register and the register of disqualified directors at Companies House. The Commission's guidance on automatic disqualification explains who is covered and how a waiver can be applied for.
What to record about a DBS check
The charity needs a record that the check was done and what was decided. It does not, as a rule, need to keep the certificate. The DBS's guidance on handling certificate information asks organisations to store it securely, restrict who can see it, and keep it no longer than they need to, which it says will usually be no more than six months after the decision it was used for.
A good record of each check holds:
- the person's name and the role the check was for
- the level of check: basic, standard, enhanced, or enhanced with barred list
- the date on the certificate and its number
- whether the person is on the DBS Update Service
- the decision taken, who took it, and when
- when your policy says the check should next be looked at
How often should checks be renewed?
A DBS certificate has no expiry date. It is accurate on the day it was issued and says nothing about anything afterwards. How often to recheck is a decision for the charity, and it belongs in your safeguarding policy so that everybody is treated the same way. Many charities choose a fixed period, such as every three years, for roles that involve contact with children or adults at risk.
The DBS Update Service lets a person keep their certificate up to date, and lets an organisation check online, with their consent, whether anything has changed since it was issued. It is free for volunteers, which makes it worth suggesting to anybody who volunteers with more than one organisation.
Safeguarding records beyond DBS
The Charity Commission is clear that safeguarding is a governance responsibility for every charity's trustees, not only for those that work with children. Its guidance on safeguarding duties for charity trustees expects a charity to take reasonable steps to protect from harm the people who come into contact with it. For a small charity, the records that show this has been done usually include:
- a safeguarding policy, the date the trustees last reviewed it, and when it is next due
- the name of the trustee or volunteer who leads on safeguarding
- who has had safeguarding training, and when
- a record of every concern raised and what was done about it
- any serious incident reported to the Commission, and the date it was reported
Records of concerns deserve particular care. Write them factually: what was seen or said, by whom, when, and what action followed. They are likely to contain sensitive personal data under UK GDPR, so keep them secure and limit who can read them. How long to keep them depends on what they concern, and records about children may need to be kept for many years. Take advice before you destroy any.
A simple register to keep
| Record | What to keep |
|---|---|
| Trustees | Name, date appointed, term of office, signed eligibility declaration |
| DBS checks | Level, certificate date and number, Update Service, decision, recheck date |
| Safeguarding policy | Date approved, date of last review, next review due |
| Training | Who, what, when |
| Concerns | Factual record, actions taken, who was told, stored securely |
| Serious incidents | What happened, date reported to the Commission |
Keeping track of the dates
None of this is difficult. What goes wrong in small charities is that the dates live in one person's head, and a recheck or a policy review slips by without anybody noticing until a funder asks. Whatever you use, put the dates where the whole committee can see them. The Charity Office keeps each trustee's term, DBS check and renewal dates alongside the charity's safeguarding records, and warns before anything lapses.