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Application Process
This page is for those who have been asked, as
part of a recruitment or licensing process, to apply for a
Disclosure.
If you are an organisation wishing to
apply for Registration click here .
Alternatively learn about the background
to the CRB .
The following questions will hopefully answer the majority of
questions you have.
Introduction
The Criminal Records Bureau (
CRB
) provides access to criminal
record and other relevant information to employers and licensing
authorities in England and Wales. The results of the checks carried
out by the CRB help organisations make more informed decisions when
recruiting people to work with children and the vulnerable.
CRB checks are also available to certain specified professional,
licensing and regulatory bodies whose employees or volunteers are
not necessarily in direct contact with the vulnerable.
Through the Disclosure service, organisations can ensure greater
protection for the vulnerable members of our society and afford
greater protection to their customers, staff, volunteers and
ultimately their organisation.
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What information is available through a CRB check?
A CRB check can provide access to a range of different types of
information, such as, 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).
held on lists maintained by the Independent Safeguarding
Authority (ISA );
Not all applications for those working with children or
vulnerable adults will be eligible for a check against lists held
by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). For the latest
details on which posts or sectors are entitled to request such
checks please click here for further details (link
opens in new window)
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 Borders and Immigration Agency website at www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingintheuk (new
window)
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Why might I be asked to apply for a CRB check?
You may have been asked to apply for a Standard or an Enhanced
CRB check if:
you will be working with children or vulnerable adults;
you will be working in an establishment that is wholly or
mainly for children;
you will be working in healthcare; or
you have applied to be a foster carer, adoptive parent or
childminder.
A CRB check may also be required for a range of
other types of job or licences. To find out more please contact the
CRB information line or visit the
information page on our site.
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Who can apply for a CRB Check?
CRB checks cannot be obtained by members of the public
directly but are only available to organisations and only for those
professions, offices, employments, work and occupations listed in
the Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
1974.
For this reason your application will be processed either by
your employer, if it is registered with the CRB, or a third party
organisation, called an Umbrella Body, which is registered with the
CRB.
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What ID documents will I need to supply when I apply for a CRB
check?
You will be asked to provide three documents: One document from
Group 1 plus any two documents from Groups 1 or 2, or five
documents from Group 2. Click here to view the
applicants guide (new window) which includes a list of
valid Group 1 and Group 2 identity documents This booklet also
contains step-by-step notes on how to fill in the application form.
If you have any questions, please call 0870 90 90 844. A language
interpretation facility can be requested if required.
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Can I apply for a CRB check or get other information in other
languages or formats?
The CRB is
committed to ensuring that access to information and the Disclosure
service is widely available to its customers. In order to
achieve this, the CRB has made the following provisions:
In accordance with the Welsh Language Act 1993, we provide a
full Welsh language service for our Welsh-speaking customers who
wish to interact with us in the language of their choice.
This includes a dedicated Welsh language telephone enquiry line,
bilingual CRB and Disclosure websites, and the facility to apply
for Disclosures and correspond in Welsh.
All CRB publications and guidance material are available in the
following formats,
Audio cassette
Large print
Braille
A minicom facility is available at all times and for people who
do not have English as their first language, we offer Language
Line. This facility allows an individual to speak to one of our
call centre staff in over 100 different languages. You can access
this service by calling the CRB Information line. This is a
telephone interpreting service conducted in a three-way conference
call.
The CRB also provides translations of all publications and
guidance material in the following languages on request,
Arabic
Bengali
Chinese (Cantonese)
Gujarati
Hindi
Punjabi
Urdu
Requests for any of the above formats or translations can be
made by contacting the CRB Information line.
This document can be made available in a number of other
languages and formats, please contact the CRB
on:
0870 90 90 811 .
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Can I track the progress of my CRB application?
The online tracking service provides customers with a facility
to track the progress of Disclosure
applications.
Click here for more information on the
online tracking service
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Why are there two levels of CRB Checks?
The different levels of Disclosure reflect the amount of contact
with children or vulnerable people or the amount of responsibility
taken by the post holder, for those children or vulnerable
adults.
Standard CRB
check
This is primarily available to those working
in controlled activities, as well as certain other occupations and
entry into professions as specified in the Exceptions Order to the
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. Standard CRB
checks show current and spent convictions, cautions, reprimands and
warnings held on the Police National Computer.
Enhanced CRB Check
This is the highest level of check available to anyone working
in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults. It
is also available in certain licensing purposes and judicial
appointments. Enhanced CRB checks contain the same
information as the Standard Disclosure but with the addition
of;
any relevant and proportionate information held by the local
police forces.
a check of the new Children and or Vulnerable Adults barred
lists where requested.
The CRB recognises that the Standard and Enhanced Disclosure
information can be extremely sensitive and personal, therefore it
has published a Code of Practice and employers’ guidance for
recipients of Disclosures to ensure they are handled fairly and
used properly.
A copy of the Standard or Enhanced Disclosure
will be sent out to the applicant as well as the Registered
Body.
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Can I refuse to apply for a CRB check?
Yes, an employer or licensing authority must have
your permission to request a Disclosure; this is given when
you sign the application form.
However, there are some posts for which a CRB check is required
by law. If you refuse to apply for a CRB check in this instance,
the organisation may not be able to take your job or licence
application any further.
If you are currently working and your employer asks you to apply
for a CRB check, you may be able to refuse if your contract of
employment does not refer to a criminal record check, unless a
change in legislation has made such a check mandatory.
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I already have a CRB Check, can I use it
again?
If you are asked to apply for a CRB check and you already have
one for a previous role you can ask if the organisation is willing
to accept it.
Ultimately, it will be the organisation’s decision whether to
accept it or not. This re-use is called ‘Portability’ -
for more information on Portability
click here .
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How do I pay for my CRB Check?
The CRB charges an application fee for processing a request for
a Disclosure check.
Payment for a CRB check can be made by personal cheque or postal
order but some organisations may pay for the CRB check on your
behalf. Please check with the person who has asked you to apply for
the CRB check to see if this is the case.
If you are a volunteer, the CRB will issue the check
free-of-charge, your employer will be able to tell you whether the
post meets the CRB's definition of a volunteer.
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Am I entitled to a free of charge CRB check?
A free of charge CRB check will be issued if you can meet the
volunteer criteria:
The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) Regulations 2002 defines
a volunteer as:
"volunteer" means a person engaged in an activity which
involves spending time, unpaid (except for travel and other
approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to
benefit some third party other than or in addition to a close
relative.
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How do I apply for a CRB Check?
An individual cannot make an application for a Disclosure
directly, and the Disclosure service does not apply to those people
who are self-employed. This is because there needs to be an
independent person who makes the decision to employ an individual
having assessed that they pose no threat to either children or
vulnerable adults in their care. If a person is self-employed there
is no independent third party to make that decision.
There are two ways of applying for a CRB check. You will either
be asked to:
telephone the Disclosure application line on 0870 90 90 844, in
which case you will need to provide the Registered Body name and
number (Please have this information to hand when calling), or
complete a paper application form handed to you by the person
who asked you to apply.
In both instances, you will have to provide evidence of your
name, address and date of birth, along with the Registered Body
name and number, and the level of CRB check. This will help the
person who asked you to apply, confirm your identity.
A guidance booklet on how to complete the form is
available here (please note,
this 483kb pdf booklet will open in a new browser window) .
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Who will receive my CRB Check?
When the application is processed, the CRB sends out a copy of
the CRB check, containing any information revealed during its
searches, to both you and the person who countersigned your
form.
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How do I know that the information contained on my CRB Check
will remain confidential?
Organisations using the Disclosure service must comply with the
CRB Code of Practice (this
1mb pdf will open in a new window) , which is there to make
sure that any information revealed is used fairly and kept
securely. Also, the CRB is committed to compliance with the
Data Protection Act . This means that any
personal information that you submit to us will be protected.
Under the provisions of the Code of Practice, sensitive personal
information must be handled and stored appropriately and must be
kept only for as long as it is necessary. The Code of Practice is
published on the CRB website, or you can request a copy from the
person who asked you to apply for the CRB check.
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What if I have a criminal record that may not be relevant to
the position for which I am applying?
Safeguards and guidelines have been introduced to ensure that
conviction information is not misused and that ex-offenders are not
treated unfairly. Ex-offenders will retain the protection afforded
by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. In addition, the CRB
and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
(CIPD )
have developed guidance information for employers on this
matter.
Employing ex
offenders (this 4kb pdf will open in a new window)
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What if things go wrong?
The CRB has
established a comprehensive complaints process and, as part of its
commitment to provide a high standard of customer service, we will
always:
act fairly and impartially
communicate effectively
deal promptly with all enquiries
endeavour to learn from our mistakes
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For how long is a CRB Check valid?
Each Disclosure will show the date on which it was
printed. CRB checks do not carry a pre-determined period of
validity because a conviction or other matter could be recorded
against the subject of the CRB check at any time after it is
issued.
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Further Information
If you would like more information about CRB or its service why not
visit our website http://www.crb.gov.uk/ or call us on
0870 90 90 811 . (Telephone calls are charged
at national rate. Calls will be recorded for security and may be
monitored for training purposes.)
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