Your situation
DBS checks when you are self-employed
Choose what you do and how many clients ask: the level, the route and the yearly cost.
Self-employed: your level, route and yearly cost
Enhanced with children's barred list
£41
| Route | Through an umbrella body |
| Update Service a year | £15 |
| First year for 4 clients | £56 |
With the Update Service every client can check the same certificate for free.
If you are self-employed, you can always request a basic DBS check for yourself on GOV.UK for £20. Since the GOV.UK guidance that went live on 21 January 2026, a self-employed person or a personal employee, someone employed directly by a private individual, can also apply for an enhanced check, with the barred lists where the role allows it, through a DBS umbrella body, provided the role is eligible and paid. The client or parent cannot apply for you: you apply, receive the certificate by post and show it. The GOV.UK examples are clear: a private maths tutor working two evenings a week can get an enhanced check with the children's barred list; a personal carer paid through direct payments can get one with the adults' barred list; a plumber who wants a check to reassure customers is not eligible and should get a basic check. The DBS fee is £41 since 5 October 2026, plus the umbrella body's admin fee. Joining the Update Service lets every client check the same certificate for free.
Fees and rules checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the figures are built
The three GOV.UK examples
| Example from the guidance | Level | Route | DBS fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private maths tutor, 2 evenings a week, no agency | Enhanced with children's barred list | Umbrella body | £41 |
| Personal carer recruited through direct payments | Enhanced with adults' barred list | Umbrella body | £41 |
| Self-employed plumber working in homes | Basic only | GOV.UK, yourself | £20 |
The four steps
The self-employed guidance sets four steps. Check that the role is eligible using the DBS eligibility guidance. Find an umbrella body that processes checks for self-employed people, using the filter of the GOV.UK search. Let it guide you through the application and prove your identity; at that point you may join the Update Service with your application reference. Receive the certificate by post and show it to the people who hire you.
Why the Update Service matters more when you work alone
An employee usually has one employer asking for a check. A self-employed tutor, coach or carer may have a new client each month, and each can ask to see a recent certificate. With the subscription, at £15 a year, a client you authorise can check online that nothing has been added since. Without it, a client who wants a recent certificate leaves you paying another £41 and admin fee. The calculator above adds the first-year cost; the Update Service page compares several years.
Personal employees
A personal employee is employed directly by a private individual to provide services to them or their family, such as a carer paid by someone with a personal health budget or direct payments, or a nanny. The rules are the same as for the self-employed: the worker applies through an umbrella body when the role is eligible. Registered childminders follow a different route, through Ofsted, as the GOV.UK applicant page notes.
Self-employed in Scotland and Northern Ireland
The same principle applies elsewhere in the UK. In Northern Ireland, the AccessNI self-employed route uses an AccessNI umbrella body, which charges a fee on top of the £32 enhanced fee, and the certificate is issued digitally to your nidirect account; its examples are the same tutor, carer and plumber. In Scotland, mygov.scot says you can apply to the PVG scheme on your own if you are self-employed, a personal assistant or work for an individual.