What it costs
How much is a DBS check?
Pick the level and the nation, type the admin fee you were quoted: the total, line by line.
What the check costs you, admin fee and VAT included
Total for a enhanced dbs check
£41
| Official fee (Disclosure and Barring Service) | £41 |
| Admin fee | £0 |
| VAT on the admin fee | £0 |
DBS fee in force since 5 October 2026. The admin fee is set by the intermediary, not by DBS.
A DBS check costs £20 at basic or standard level and £41 at enhanced level in England and Wales, the enhanced price being the same with or without a search of the barred lists. These fees apply to applications received from 5 October 2026, under SI 2026/985; before that the prices were £21.50 and £49.50. Standard and enhanced checks are free for volunteers who meet the GOV.UK test, while a basic check is always paid. Most people do not pay the DBS fee alone: a responsible organisation or umbrella body handles the form and may add an administration fee, which DBS neither sets nor caps, plus VAT on that fee if the body is VAT registered. In Scotland a Level 1 disclosure costs £25 and joining the PVG scheme £59; in Northern Ireland AccessNI charges £16 or £32.
Fees and rules checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the figures are built
Every fee in one table
| Check | From 5 October 2026 | Until 4 October 2026 | Volunteer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | £20 | £21.50 | £20 |
| Standard | £20 | £21.50 | £0 |
| Enhanced | £41 | £49.50 | £0 |
| Enhanced with barred lists | £41 | £49.50 | £0 |
| Adult First (on top) | £6 | £6 | £6 |
| Update Service, a year | £15 | £16 | £0 |
The fee that counts is the one in force when DBS receives the application. A form started in September and submitted after 5 October 2026 pays the lower fee. The DBS announcement asked registered bodies and responsible organisations to update their systems and customer information before that date.
What the admin fee pays for
An employer asking for fewer than 100 standard or enhanced checks a year cannot apply to DBS directly: it uses an umbrella body. The same goes for anyone self-employed. The umbrella body verifies your identity documents, checks the form, answers DBS queries and sends the result to the employer. That work is what its admin fee pays for. Fees differ a lot from one body to another, and some charge more for a paper application than an online one. The calculator takes the figure you were quoted because no official list of these fees can be read automatically.
Under HMRC VAT Notice 700, section 25, a fee paid to a third party as your agent can stay outside VAT when the conditions are met, while the agent's own charge follows its VAT status. That is why you can see a total such as £41 + £10 + £2 on an invoice: DBS fee, admin fee, VAT on the admin fee alone.
The 5 October 2026 fee cut on your check
Saved on 12 checks
£102
| Fee until 4 October 2026 | £49.50 |
| Fee from 5 October 2026 | £41 |
| Total at the new fee | £492 |
England and Wales, SI 2026/985. Volunteer standard and enhanced checks stay free.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
If the job is in Scotland, the check comes from Disclosure Scotland: £25 for a Level 1 disclosure, £25 for Level 2, £59 to join the PVG scheme and £18 for an existing member. If it is in Northern Ireland, AccessNI charges £16 for basic and standard checks and £32 for enhanced ones. What matters is where the work is done, not where you live. The four-nation page sets the same role side by side.
Keeping the cost down
Three things lower the bill without cutting corners. Ask whether the role really needs the level requested: a role that does not meet the eligibility guidance cannot lawfully get a higher check. If you volunteer, check the five conditions of the volunteer test. And if you expect to change employer, agency or client, subscribe to the Update Service within 30 days of your certificate: one £15 subscription can replace several new checks.