Pre-employment checks

Pre-employment checks sit between a conditional offer and your first day. In the NHS they follow six national standards: identity, right to work, professional registration and qualifications, employment history and references, criminal record, and a work health assessment. Schools, councils and the Civil Service run a similar list with their own additions. You cannot usually start until every check is complete and satisfactory.

The six NHS Employment Check Standards

NHS Employers publishes the NHS Employment Check Standards, and every NHS organisation in England follows them for permanent staff, bank workers, students on placement and many volunteers. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own versions with very similar content.

Standard	What the employer checks	What you provide
Identity	That you are who you say you are	Photo ID and proof of address
Right to work	That you can legally work in the UK	Passport, birth certificate with NI number proof, or a share code
Professional registration and qualifications	Registration is live, with no restrictions; qualifications are genuine	Registration number; original certificates
Employment history and references	Your work history and conduct, usually covering the last three years	Referee contacts and full dates of employment
Criminal record	Convictions, cautions and barred lists where relevant	DBS application details
Work health assessment	That you can do the job safely, with adjustments if needed	Occupational health questionnaire and vaccination records

The level of DBS check depends on the role. Patient-facing posts usually need an enhanced check, with a barred list check where the job is regulated activity. Many back-office NHS roles need only a basic check.

Checks in schools

Schools in England follow Keeping children safe in education, which sets out safer recruitment. On top of identity, right to work, references and health, school checks normally include:

• an enhanced DBS check with a children’s barred list check
• a prohibition from teaching check for teaching roles
• a section 128 check for management posts in academies and independent schools
• extra checks for anyone who has lived or worked overseas
• verification of qualifications the job requires, such as QTS

Every check goes on the school’s single central record, which inspectors look at.

Checks in councils and the Civil Service

Councils run identity, right to work, references and, where the role needs it, a DBS check at the right level. Social care, education and some housing posts need enhanced checks, while office jobs may need only a basic check or none. Many councils also ask for a health questionnaire.

The Civil Service uses the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for almost all roles. It covers identity, nationality and immigration status, employment history and a basic criminal record check. Posts with access to more sensitive material need national security vetting on top, at levels such as Counter Terrorist Check, Security Check or Developed Vetting. These take longer and involve more questions about your background and finances. The advert should say which level applies. Civil Service nationality rules also affect who can be appointed, and some posts are reserved for UK nationals.

Current check fees

Check	Fee from 5 October 2026
DBS basic (England and Wales)	£20.00
DBS standard	£20.00
DBS enhanced (with or without barred lists)	£41.00
DBS Update Service	£15 a year
Disclosure Scotland PVG scheme (join)	£59
AccessNI enhanced	£32

Checks for volunteers are free from DBS. More detail on what each level shows is in DBS checks: basic, standard and enhanced.

How long the checks take

There is no fixed timescale. Identity, right to work and registration checks can be done in a day if your documents are ready. References depend on how fast your referees reply, and DBS checks depend on the police forces involved, so these two are the usual bottlenecks. Occupational health can add time where vaccinations are needed. How long NHS recruitment takes goes through the order things normally happen in.

You can save time by sending documents promptly, warning referees, and keeping your DBS certificate on the Update Service so the next employer can check it online.

When a check comes back with a problem

A flagged check does not automatically end the offer. The employer should look at what the issue is and whether it is relevant to the job, and give you a chance to explain. A reference that mentions sickness absence, a conviction unrelated to the role, or a gap in history with a good reason may all be accepted.

If the employer decides to withdraw the offer, they should tell you why. The grounds for withdrawal, and what to do if you think the decision is unlawful, are covered in Conditional job offers. ACAS and trade unions can advise if you think a decision was discriminatory, and the DBS has its own dispute process if you believe information on your certificate is wrong.