What Is The DBS Update Service?
The DBS update service is an online Government subscription service that allows you to maintain your employees’ Standard and Enhanced DBS Checks and continually check their current status.
We have many of our clients asking us, What is the DBS Update Service, and how can it benefit us? So we thought this article on What is The DBS Update Service may help answer any questions you may have.
What Is The DBS Update Service, And How Can It Benefit You?
When an applicant registers to the DBS Update Service, it allows employers to check to see if there has been a change on the DBS certificate since it was first issued. Whilst it won’t show you what the change is, it will advise you that a new DBS application needs to be submitted.
Thanks to this, a new application only needs to be paid for when the Update Service tells you a new one will be needed! However, checking this manually, can be a chore.
What Is The DBS Update Service And How We Can Help
Here at Aaron’s Department, we provide an exclusive time-saving service that automatically checks to see if there have been any changes to an individual’s certificate on the DBS Update Service. This saves you the hassle of doing it yourself, or assigning the role to someone else who is also already busy. For more information on our Automatic DBS Update Service Check, Read our Automatic DBS Update Service Checking For Employers article, get in touch on 0113 877 0171 or register employees to our Automatic Update Service below.
What Is The DBS Update Service? – What Checks Can Go On The Update Service?
Only Standard and Enhanced checks can be registered for the DBS Update Service.
What Is The DBS Update Service? How do Employers Check the DBS Update Service?
The DBS online update service helps employers to easily check their applicant’s certificate online, and carry out status checks, with the individual’s consent.
How do Employers check the DBS Update Service? There are two ways:
1. Register With Aaron’s Department Automatic Update Service
By adding your employees to our Automatic Update Service checking system, we will notify you as soon as there is any change to their certificate.
If they’re already on the Update Service, simply enter a couple of details, and you’re done!
If your employees are not registered on the Update Service, you can register them to it on our system too! It only takes a minute to do (even quicker if their DBS was done through us).
This saves you from having to use the alternative method, which is a lot more time-consuming! You can read more about our Automatic DBS Update Service here.
On top of this, by having Aaron’s Department notify you as soon as there is a change, you don’t have to worry about employing someone who, during their employment with you, can no longer legally work with a vulnerable group.
2. Manually Check Using The Government’s Update Service Website
This long, boring way is something no-one wants to do!
To manually check an employee’s certificate online, an employer, or organisation needs the applicant’s 12-digit DBS certificate reference number, their name, and date of birth. They can then go online, enter the employee details, and carry out a status check on the certificate. This has to be manually done for every single employee, regularly – tedious and also time-consuming!
Below is what the DBS update service login page looks like, which we’ve linked here.
What Is The DBS Update Service? – How Much Does the DBS Update Service Cost?
The Update Service DBS check costs £13 per year in government fees, and starts from the date of issue of the applicant’s DBS certificate.
If the applicant is a volunteer, then the government fee is waived.
Want to skip all the boring work? Register your applicants on our Automatic Update Service checker, pay our small admin fee, and we’ll notify you the second there is a change to their certificate.
What Is The DBS Update Service? How Long Does the DBS Online Update Service Last?
Once the applicant is registered, the service lasts for one year. The Disclosure and Barring Service will email you before the subscription ends to check if you want the service to renew.
What Information is Needed to Register for the DBS Update Service?
The information needed to be able to register for the update service is as follows:
- Name.
- Gender.
- Date of birth.
- Email address.
- Reference number, depending on the method used (see below).
- A card to pay for the Update Service fee (if applicable).
How Can You Register for the DBS Update Service?
You can register your employees to the DBS Update Service on Aaron’s Department, which will allow you to automatically have their DBS statuses checked.
If the applicant’s DBS check was completed though Aaron’s Department, they can be automatically added as soon as the check is complete. Not completed your checks through Aaron’s Department? Don’t worry! You can easily register an applicant on our system – it only takes a few seconds.
Here’s the information you will need:
Application Reference Number
When the applicant applies for their DBS check, they can join the DBS online update service using their application reference number.
For this method, the DBS application must be received by the Disclosure and Barring Service within 30 days of joining the update service.
The DBS will then add the certificate to the applicant’s account when it is issued.
DBS Certificate Number
When the DBS check is complete and the applicant has received their certificate, they have 30 days from the ‘date of issue’ to register.
This can be done using the number on the DBS certificate itself. To find your DBS Number, take a look at our informative article, Where Can I Find My DBS Number?
What Is The DBS Update Service? – Summary
So let us answer the question, What is the DBS Update Service. In summary, the DBS update service is an online Government subscription service that allows you to maintain your employees’ Standard and Enhanced DBS Checks and continually check their current status.
Further Information
To find out more about our Automatic DBS Update Service, and register your staff, check out our Automatic DBS Update Service page or one of our further articles on what is the DBS update service, including, The Perks Of Using Our Online DBS Update Service you want to get started straight away, just click the button below! But, if you have any more questions, feel free to reach out to us at contact@aaronsdepartment.com – We’re always happy to help.
How can a dbs last for 3 years yet if you haven’t registered within 19 days of having it you can’t subscribe?
Hi Cyril,
A DBS check has no legal expiry date, only an issue date, although the information is only correct up until the date of print – you can read more about that on this page: https://www.aaronsdepartment.com/how-long-does-a-dbs-last.php
Regarding the 19 days, this was the old amount of time that people had to subscribe to the update service. This amount of time is still listed on the login page of the DBS update service login page. We have updated this to the new 30-day deadline in this article, which is now listed on the DBS website (https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service). This Is the deadline for applying to the update service, which is separate from having the DBS check done itself.
Thank you
Aaron’s Department