How long it takes
How long does a DBS check take?
Choose the level and the nation: the latest published average and the share done on time.
How long the check is likely to take
Average for England
13.1 days
| Average (July 2026) | 13.1 days |
| Done within 14 days (June 2026) | 74.9% |
| Police return, average | 26 days |
An average hides long waits: enhanced checks that go to a slow police force can take weeks.
A DBS check usually takes a few days, but an enhanced check can take weeks when a police force is slow. In the DBS police performance report for July 2026, the average was 0.7 days for a basic check, 1.1 days for a standard check and 13.1 days for an enhanced check. The official DBS dataset for June 2026 shows 86.4% of basic certificates sent within 2 days, 91.1% of standard ones within 3 days and 74.9% of enhanced ones within 14 days, against a target of n/a. GOV.UK still tells applicants to allow up to 14 days for a basic check and around 8 weeks for standard and enhanced ones. Delays come from errors on the form and from the police: forces took 26 days on average to answer, and 11 were behind target. In Scotland the average was 3.5 days.
Fees and rules checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the figures are built
Month by month, England and Wales
| Month | Basic within target | Standard within target | Enhanced within target | Enhanced sent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | 89.4% | 90.4% | 72.0% | 308,292 |
| May 2026 | 89.1% | 90.0% | 73.7% | 319,154 |
| June 2026 | 86.4% | 91.1% | 74.9% | 384,558 |
The police forces behind target
The DBS police performance report for July 2026 named these forces as outside their service level: Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Thames Valley, Sussex, Dyfed-Powys, Avon and Somerset, Cleveland, Northumbria, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, West Yorkshire, Police Scotland. It does not publish a number of days per force, so none is shown here. If you lived in one of these areas during the address history the form asks for, allow more time. The calculator below says whether a force was on that list.
Your police force and the wait for an enhanced check
Thames Valley, July 2026
On the delayed list
| Police return, all forces, average | 26 days |
| Enhanced within 14 days, June 2026 | 74.9% |
| Enhanced average, all checks | 13.1 days |
DBS names the forces outside their target but publishes no wait per force: no number of days is invented here.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
Disclosure Scotland reported 152,622 applications completed from April to June 2026, in 3.5 days on average, with 99.5% done within 14 days (quarter one 2026). AccessNI publishes weekly averages: for the week of 19 October 2026, 3 days for basic, 3 days for standard and 5 days for enhanced checks (nidirect).
How to avoid adding days yourself
Give every address of the last five years with dates, every previous name, and the same details as on your identity documents. Answer quickly if the umbrella body or DBS asks a question. And if you will need a check again, join the Update Service: the next employer can check your certificate online the same day, with no new wait.
Averages against the GOV.UK guide
| Level | GOV.UK tells you to allow | Average, July 2026 | Within target, June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Up to 14 days | 0.7 days | 86.4% |
| Standard | Around 8 weeks | 1.1 days | 91.1% |
| Enhanced | Around 8 weeks | 13.1 days | 74.9% |
The gap between the guide and the averages is the tail of slow applications. Most checks come back within days, but an enhanced application that a police force has to examine waits for that force, and the average police answer time was 26 days in the latest report. Plan on the guide, not on the average, if a start date depends on it.
For a basic check applied for on GOV.UK, the service says the application is usually processed within 3 days, while the guide for applicants still tells you to allow up to 14 days. Delivery by post comes on top of the processing time for a paper certificate, so leave a few days more if the employer needs to see the original.