Disclosure and Barring Service Announce POtential drop in fees from April 2022

The fees charged for DBS Checks allow the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to deliver criminal record checks to employers across the UK. As the number of DBS Checks carried out has increased steadily over the past few years, the DBS has undertaken a fee review.

The result of this review is that the DBS has proposed a change to legislation that will allow them to reduce their fees. Offering a reduction in fees reflects the DBS’s commitment as a public body to providing good value for money. You can see the proposed reductions below:

Type of DBS check Current DBS fee* Revised DBS fee* from April 6th 2022

Basic DBS check £23.00 £18.00 (£5 reduction)

Standard DBS check £23.00 £18.00 (£5 reduction)

Enhanced DBS check £40.00 £38.00 (£2 reduction)

*Prices exclude our service/administration fees.

These proposed changes are set to be brought before Parliament on 16th March 2022. As long as MPs vote these changes through, from 6th April 2022 the fee for DBS Checks will be decreased.

As you can see, the fees charged for all three levels of DBS Check will potentially be reduced if the legislation is passed.

Standard and Enhanced DBS checks for volunteers will remain free of charge. No changes will be made to the cost of registering for the DBS Update Service or the cost of Adult First Checks (also known as POVA or ISA Checks).

As part of our commitment to providing the best value service to our customers, we will of course be passing on these savings. Any changes to the price of our DBS Checks will automatically be applied to all our existing customer accounts.

We have outlined the changes to the list price of our DBS Checks in the table.

While we anticipate that these changes will happen, it is down to Parliament whether they vote to introduce the new fee structure. However, we can see no reason why they wouldn’t vote to reduce DBS Fees.

We will be watching closely to confirm the changes will be going ahead. We will of course confirm any changes to our customers as and when they are announced.

If you need more information about the new fee structure, get in touch! Give us a call on 01254 355688 or drop us an email at letstalk@personnelchecks.co.uk