CRB checking service and fees

What types of check are available?

Organisations wishing to use the service can ask successful job applicants to apply for one of two types of check, these are called enhanced and standard checks. The type of check required will depend upon the nature of the position.

Standard checks

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA), (Exceptions) Order 1975 acts as the gateway for access to the CRB checking service and lists those occupations, professions and positions considered to be exempt from the ROA provisions designed to protect individuals from unnecessary disclosure of their spent conviction history.

Consideration of this order must be given before an organisation submits any CRB application request in order to determine whether a relevant exempted question is being asked. The order allows for applications to be submitted to a standard level.

Enhanced checks

To qualify for the higher level of CRB check, enhanced, the position must also meet one of the criteria set out in The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations. These positions are known as 'prescribed positions' and reflect the statutory requirements from other organisations. For example, The Gambling Commission has a requirement that all applications to hold an operating licence require inclusion of an enhanced CRB check. Persons who work in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults work in a prescribed position.

What information is available through a CRB check?

A CRB check can provide access to a range of different types of information.

Standard and Enhanced checks provide information:

• held on the Police National Computer (PNC), including convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings in England and Wales, and most of the relevant convictions in Scotland and Northern Ireland may also be included. The CRB reserves the right to add new data sources

In addition to the information held on PNC, Enhanced checks also provide information: 

• held by local police forces and other agencies, relating to relevant non-conviction information
• held on lists maintained by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) (if requested).

Who is eligible for a CRB check?

View the latest details on which posts or sectors are entitled to request checks. 

The CRB does not check whether an applicant is permitted to work within the UK. The employer has liability for ensuring that the person they intend to employ does not have any restriction on their ability to take up employment within the UK.

For further information on the rules surrounding working in the UK go to the UK Borders Agency website.

Fees

Both standard and enhanced checks require a fee but are free of charge to volunteers.

The fees to process criminal records checks are:

• Standard CRB check - £26
• Enhanced CRB check - £44
• ISA Adult First - £6

Guidance for registered bodies or organisations who would like to use the CRB checking service can be found on the Business Link website.