Basic vs standard vs enhanced: which DBS check can you actually use?
It's not a menu. The role determines the level - and ordering the highest one "to be thorough" isn't an option the law gives you.
There are four DBS levels, not three: basic, standard, enhanced, and enhanced with barred lists. A basic check (£21.50) can be used for any role. Standard (£21.50) and enhanced (£49.50 - gov.uk fees) are restricted to roles listed in the Exceptions Order 1975, and barred-list checks are restricted further, mainly to regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults. The role decides the level; you cannot trade up for reassurance.
What each level shows
| Level | What it shows | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | unspent convictions and conditional cautions | £21.50 |
| Standard | spent and unspent convictions and cautions | £21.50 |
| Enhanced | standard, plus any local police information considered relevant to the role | £49.50 |
| Enhanced + barred lists | enhanced, plus whether the person is barred from doing the role | £49.50 |
Most articles collapse this into "three levels" because the two enhanced variants share a fee. Gov.uk lists them separately for a reason: the barred-list element has its own, stricter eligibility test, and in regulated activity it isn't optional.
Which roles are eligible for which level?
- Basic - anyone. Any employer, any role, any purpose. This is the ceiling for ordinary office, retail, trade and hospitality roles.
- Standard - listed roles only. Positions in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975: think solicitors, chartered accountants, certain FCA-regulated roles, security industry licensing.
- Enhanced - listed roles with certain work. Exceptions Order roles that also involve prescribed activity, typically working with children or vulnerable adults - teaching, care work, healthcare.
- Enhanced + barred lists - regulated activity. Roles in regulated activity with children or adults, plus specific cases the law names, such as taxi and private-hire licensing and prospective adoptive parents.
The registered body countersigning your application must confirm the role's eligibility - which is the practical reason "just run an enhanced on everyone" fails at the first hurdle. If a role isn't eligible, a basic check is the most you can lawfully see, and asking a candidate to show you more than the role entitles you to is exactly the kind of practice the eligibility rules exist to stop.
DBS Adult First: the £6 head start
Adult social care has a rapid pre-check: DBS Adult First (£6) checks the adults' barred list quickly so that, in defined circumstances, a new starter can begin work under supervision while the full enhanced check completes. It's a bridge, not a substitute - the enhanced certificate still has to arrive and be reviewed.
Choosing in practice
Work from the role, not the person: write down what the role does (who it works with, unsupervised or not, how often), map that against the eligibility criteria, and record the level with the reason. That record is what your regulator, insurer - or an unfair-refusal complaint - will ask for. Then track the certificate itself: level, number, date and your re-check cycle, because certificates never expire on their own. If timing matters, see how long a DBS check takes, and put the whole approach in writing with the DBS policy template.
Keep reading: All 66 HR guides · 30 free templates · 24 calculators
Level, number, date - tracked per person
CoDash keeps a DBS register alongside right-to-work and certifications: the level each role needs, who's been checked, and reminders before renewals fall due.