Which DBS check do charity trustees need?
Shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings that have not been filtered. Must be countersigned by a registered body.
Why this level, in law
reg.5B extends to trustees of a charity whose workers carry out regulated activity with adults. A trustee of a charity that does not is not eligible at that level.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975, Sch.1 Pt.II — excepted office or employment
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1975/1023/schedule/1This one genuinely depends on your job
Two charity trustees can need different checks. Until these are answered, the level above is the floor we can prove — not a guess dressed up as an answer.
- Does the work involve personal care, health care, teaching, supervision, advice or transport for the people you support?
- Does the role need a licence — taxi or private hire, gambling, firearms, immigration advice?
What the three levels show
- Basic
- Shows unspent convictions and conditional cautions. Anyone aged 16 or over can apply for their own.
- Standard
- Shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings that have not been filtered. Must be countersigned by a registered body.
- Enhanced
- Everything in a standard check, plus any information a chief officer of police reasonably believes to be relevant. Must be countersigned by a registered body.
- Barred list check
- Where the work is regulated activity, an enhanced certificate also says whether the applicant is barred from it. It is not a separate check and there is no separate fee.
Before you send the form
DBS returns forms for a short list of reasons: a gap in the five-year address history, an initial where a forename should be, a job title over 30 characters, a previous name left off. Our free checker finds them in the details you type; the £14.99 pack tells you exactly what to write instead and which form field it belongs to. We never predict what your certificate will say, and we never promise a turnaround time.
Check my details — free- compiledCheck level and statutory basis — legislation.gov.uk — Police Act 1997 Pt.V, S.I. 1975/1023 Sch.1, S.I. 2002/233 regs.5A-5C, SVGA 2006 Sch.4Provisions read from legislation.gov.uk on 2026-09-20 and built into this release.
- not verifiedStatutory fee — legislation.gov.uk — S.I. 2002/233 regs.3A and 4legislation.gov.uk could not be reached, or the figures have moved. No fee is stated — read the regulation yourself before you pay.
- compiledID document routes — DBS ID checking guidelines, in force from 22 April 2025Guidance read on 2026-09-20. DBS can revise it without an instrument, so check that date against GOV.UK.
- compiledApplication form rules — GOV.UK — common mistakes on the DBS application formGuidance read on 2026-09-20.