Levels of check
Enhanced DBS check: what it adds and who can get one
Answer four questions about the role: the level the guidance allows and its fee.
Which level the role can get
Highest level the role can get
Enhanced DBS check (no barred list)
| Why | Work with children below the frequency condition |
| DBS fee | £41 |
| Free for volunteers | Yes |
Indicative, from the DBS eligibility guidance (England and Wales). The recruiting organisation decides.
An enhanced DBS check shows everything a standard check shows, the convictions and cautions not removed by filtering, plus any information a local police force reasonably believes is relevant to the role and ought to be included. It can be issued with or without a search of the children's barred list, the adults' barred list or both. The price is the same in every case: £41 since 5 October 2026, down from £49.50, and nothing for a volunteer. An enhanced check without barred lists is for work with children or adults that does not reach regulated activity, for example teaching children once a month, any work in a children's hospital, therapy for children, or occasional work in a school, and for some licences in the "other" workforce, such as gambling, judicial appointments and immigration advice. With barred lists, it is reserved for regulated activity. The organisation recruiting you applies; a self-employed person in an eligible role applies through an umbrella body.
Fees and rules checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the figures are built
Enhanced without barred lists: the main cases
The DBS guidance for work with children without the barred list lists activities carried out more than once that qualify: giving legal advice to children, any work in a children's hospital with the chance of contact with patients, regulated activity done too rarely to meet the period condition, treatment or therapy for children, and temporary or occasional work in a school, nursery or other specified establishment. The guidance gives the example of a library volunteer who teaches children to read once a month: eligible for an enhanced check, not for the barred list.
For adults, the guidance on work with adults works in three steps: the adult receives a listed service (residential care, sheltered housing, health care, support to live independently, a service because of age or disability) or is in a listed situation (custody, supervision by probation, a power of attorney); the role carries out a listed activity for them; and it does so often enough. A kitchen worker in a care home who never gives personal care is a typical case.
In the "other" workforce, an enhanced check without barred lists goes with gambling licences, the National Lottery, immigration advisers, controlled drugs licences, maritime armed guards, judicial appointments and employment by the Crown.
| Role in the finder | Level | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Occasional contractor in a school | Enhanced DBS check (no barred list) | children-barred §3 / children-enhanced |
| Care home worker without personal care (kitchen, admin) | Enhanced DBS check (no barred list) | adults-enhanced |
| Gambling operating or personal licence | Enhanced DBS check (no barred list) | other-enhanced §3 |
| Judge, magistrate, coroner or justice of the peace (appointment) | Enhanced DBS check (no barred list) | other-enhanced §3 |
| Registered immigration adviser | Enhanced DBS check (no barred list) | other-enhanced §3 |
| Employment by the Crown | Enhanced DBS check (no barred list) | other-enhanced §3 |
The police part
An enhanced check goes to every police force covering the addresses you gave. Most return nothing; when a force holds something, a disclosure officer decides whether it is relevant and should be included. That step explains most delays. In the DBS report for July 2026, forces took 26 days on average to answer, and 11 were behind target. The waiting time page lets you check yours.
Fee and Update Service
Since 5 October 2026, an enhanced check costs £41 with or without barred lists, plus any admin fee charged by an umbrella body; the enhanced cost page adds it for you. If you join the Update Service for £15 a year, a later employer in the same workforce can check the certificate online without a new application. It cannot replace a check at a different level or in another workforce.