Discover the importance of Annaizu Compliance Management in today's business landscape and how a Home Office compliance management platform can help your business streamline its compliance efforts, reduce risks, and stay ahead of regulations.
Healthcare and social care compliance | 13 November 2026
A new carer is due to start on Monday. Their references look fine, the rota is already set and the care manager needs another pair of hands. But has anyone confirmed that the DBS check matches the work they will actually be doing?
For care homes, domiciliary care agencies and healthcare providers, requesting the wrong check or ignoring a disclosure can leave a provider exposed.
Here is what care employers need to know about eligibility, convictions, fees and recruitment mistakes in 2026. DBS guidance here concerns England and Wales; CQC rules specifically concern England.
01 / The responsibility
A DBS check is one part of safer recruitment, not a stamp of approval
Care staff may provide intimate personal care, enter private homes or administer treatment. Employers need evidence that each person is suitable for that responsibility.
In England, CQC Regulation 19 requires fit and proper staff and robust recruitment. DBS checks, references, qualifications and ongoing monitoring all matter, including for agency workers, contractors and volunteers.
A clear DBS certificate means no information was disclosed at that level of check. It does not prove that the person has never committed an offence, and it does not replace the rest of the recruitment process.
02 / Eligibility
Basic, Standard or Enhanced: which DBS check does a care worker need?
The starting point is the job, not the job title. Two employees may work for the same care provider and legally qualify for different checks.
| Role or activity | Likely eligible check | What makes the difference? |
|---|---|---|
| Care assistant providing personal care in a care home or someone's home | Enhanced with Adults' Barred List | Providing personal care to an adult who needs it because of age, illness or disability is regulated activity. |
| Registered nurse providing healthcare to adults | Enhanced with Adults' Barred List | Providing healthcare as a regulated healthcare professional is regulated activity. |
| Care home cleaner or administrator with regular opportunities for resident contact | Enhanced, without barred list | Regular work in a care home can qualify for Enhanced even when the person does not deliver regulated activity. |
| Occasional care home contractor with an opportunity for resident contact | Potentially Standard | Less frequent work may qualify for Standard. Assess the exact activity and contact before applying. |
| Home visitor offering companionship only | Often Basic | Befriending alone is not automatically regulated activity. Additional duties could change eligibility. |
Personal care includes helping someone wash, dress, eat or use the toilet, or prompting and supervising someone who cannot make those decisions independently. The same rules can apply in care homes or a person's own home. Managers directly and regularly managing such work may also qualify for barred list checks.
Important distinction: An Enhanced DBS check does not automatically include a barred list check. The Adults' Barred List can only be requested where the duties meet the legal criteria. Asking for more information than an employer is entitled to see is not an extra safeguarding measure.
A cleaner working around residents and a home care worker providing personal care may need different checks. For unusual roles, consult the DBS adult social care eligibility guidance.
For a closer look at workforce categories, read our DBS workforce types guide.
03 / Criminal records
What happens if a DBS check reveals a conviction?
Automatically rejecting every applicant with a conviction is wrong. So is ignoring the disclosure.
A Basic DBS check shows unspent convictions and unspent conditional cautions. Standard and Enhanced checks can show older convictions and adult cautions, subject to filtering rules. Enhanced checks can also include local police information considered relevant and appropriate to disclose, even where no conviction resulted.
Filtering protects some old or minor records. Qualifying adult cautions may be filtered after six years, adult convictions after 11 years and youth convictions after five and a half years. These are not universal limits. Serious specified offences, custodial sentences and unspent records are treated differently, and Enhanced checks may include relevant police information.
A practical example. An applicant has an older conviction unrelated to care. The manager considers its age, circumstances, the applicant's explanation and whether it creates a genuine risk in this role.
An offence involving abuse, theft from someone receiving care or dishonesty in a position of trust may raise quite different questions. The decision should be specific to the role, fair and recorded.
A conviction does not automatically mean someone is barred. But a person on the Adults' Barred List must not carry out regulated activity with adults. Knowingly allowing it can be a criminal offence.
Employers must not demand disclosure of protected convictions or cautions or take them into account unlawfully. Read the official filtering guidance and our article on how to read a DBS certificate.
04 / The cost
DBS check costs in 2026: government fees and Annaizu prices
Since 5 October 2026, government DBS fees are £20 for Basic and Standard and £41 for Enhanced. The Update Service costs £15 annually for paid applicants. Eligible volunteer checks have no statutory fee, although an administration fee may apply.
Compare final prices, including administration fees and applicable VAT.
| Check | Government DBS fee | Annaizu published price |
|---|---|---|
| Enhanced, 1 to 30 checks | £41 | £49 per check |
| Enhanced, 31 to 150 checks | £41 | £46 per check |
| Enhanced, 151 to 300 checks | £41 | £46 per check |
| Enhanced, 300+ checks | £41 | Contact Annaizu for pricing |
| Basic or Standard, 1 to 300 checks | £20 | £26.50 per check |
| Digital Right to Work check | Not a DBS service | £5.50 per check |
Annaizu prices are based on the published pricing page effective from 5 October 2026. They include the statutory DBS charge where applicable and VAT on applicable service charges. Eligibility and terms apply. Right to Work is a separate check, not a substitute for DBS. See current Annaizu pricing before ordering.
One hundred Enhanced checks at Annaizu's published 31 to 150 rate would cost £4,600 in total.
05 / The weak points
Six DBS mistakes care providers can avoid
- Ordering the highest check for everybody. A barred list check requires legal eligibility. More information is not always lawful information.
- Using a certificate from another role without checking it. Review the original certificate, workforce, level and barred list information. A previous care job does not guarantee a match.
- Confusing application progress with clearance. An application marked complete or dispatched is not a substitute for inspecting and assessing the actual certificate when required.
- Automatically rejecting a person with a record. Relevant disclosures need an individual risk assessment and a documented recruitment decision, not a generic pass or fail label.
- Forgetting agency and temporary staff. A busy shift does not remove the provider's obligation to confirm that suitable recruitment checks have been completed.
- Keeping sensitive certificates indefinitely. Record the check and your decision, but handle criminal record information securely and keep it only as long as justified under the applicable rules.
Problems often start when recruitment and operations teams assume somebody else checked the evidence.
06 / Before the first shift
What should be completed before a new care worker starts?
When shifts need covering urgently, make the evidence part of the start date decision, not an afterthought.
- Confirm identity and the person's Right to Work using the appropriate process.
- Write down the actual duties and assess which DBS level and barred list checks are legally available.
- Obtain and consider the appropriate DBS result, any relevant disclosures, references and employment history.
- Check professional registration and qualifications where the role requires them.
- For applicants who have lived abroad, consider suitable overseas criminal record evidence because a UK DBS check does not routinely cover overseas records.
- Record who approved the person for work, when and on what evidence. Any proposed interim working arrangement needs a lawful basis and a documented risk assessment.
Do not confuse a conditional offer with permission to undertake regulated activity. If barred list checks or other essential safeguards are outstanding, the employer must establish what work, if any, can lawfully take place. A barred individual must never be placed in regulated activity with the group from which they are barred.
07 / After recruitment
Do DBS checks expire, and how often should care staff be checked?
DBS certificates have no fixed expiry date, but they are snapshots. Providers need a review policy based on role, risk and any regulatory or contractual obligations.
The DBS Update Service can help with eligible Standard and Enhanced certificates. Employers need the applicant's consent, must inspect the original certificate and must be entitled to the same level, type and workforce of check. If the status has changed, a fresh check may be required to see the new information. Basic DBS checks are not covered by the Update Service.
Store criminal record information securely and only as long as necessary, commonly no more than six months unless an exception is justified. Keep a limited record of the check and decision for your audit trail.
Safeguarding continues after recruitment. Where an employer removes someone from regulated activity because they have harmed or pose a relevant risk of harm, a legal duty to refer the person to DBS may arise. Resignation does not necessarily remove that duty.
08 / Putting it into practice
How Annaizu helps care providers manage DBS checks
In a domiciliary care agency or a group of care homes, it can be hard to see what has been requested, what remains outstanding and who must make a decision.
Annaizu's online DBS service gives employers a place to request and track eligible Basic, Standard and Enhanced checks. It also supports wider onboarding and separate Right to Work checks, so recruitment evidence is not scattered across inboxes and spreadsheets.
Annaizu offers volume based pricing for Enhanced checks, including £46 per check for 31 to 300 applications under the published pricing bands. For smaller volumes of 1 to 30, the published price is £49 per check. Explore the full pricing.
Annaizu supports the workflow. Employers still decide eligibility, assess disclosures and meet their safeguarding duties.
09 / Common questions
DBS checks in care: frequently asked questions
Does every care home employee need an Enhanced DBS check?
No. Regular contact with residents in a care home can make a role eligible for Enhanced, but barred list eligibility is separate. The exact duties and frequency of work matter.
Can someone work in care with a criminal conviction?
Possibly. A disclosed conviction calls for a fair, role specific assessment, not automatic rejection. A person barred from regulated activity with adults cannot undertake that activity.
Do domiciliary care workers need an Adults' Barred List check?
Workers providing qualifying personal care to adults are generally eligible for Enhanced DBS checks with the Adults' Barred List. Companionship alone does not automatically qualify.
How often must care workers renew a DBS check?
There is no single statutory renewal interval for every care worker. Review your policy, specific obligations and the role's risk. The Update Service can help where the conditions are met.
Are Enhanced DBS checks £46 with Annaizu?
Yes, for the published 31 to 300 check volume bands as at November 2026. The published price for 1 to 30 Enhanced checks is £49. Check the live pricing page for the current rate and terms.
The bottom line. In care, the important question is not whether a DBS application was submitted. It is whether the right check was requested, the result was considered properly and the person is suitable for the work entrusted to them. When those decisions are made early and recorded clearly, safer recruitment becomes part of everyday care delivery rather than an exercise before an inspection.
Information reviewed on 13 November 2026. This article provides general information on DBS checks in England and Wales, and CQC requirements in England. It is not legal advice. Check current legislation and DBS eligibility guidance for individual roles.
.jpg)
.svg)