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Disclosure & Barring Service (Basic) 

iCOVER offers extensive criminal background checks across the United Kingdom, ensuring full compliance with the distinct legal frameworks of each UK nation—England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man). As a trusted provider, iCOVER offers a wide range of criminal-related services in the UK. We are an Umbrella Body of the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) and a Registered Organisation with Disclosure Scotland (DS) and Access Northern Ireland (AccessNI). We offer different criminal-related services tailored to your specific employment screening needs, including two services featuring secure, accredited digital identity checks for the DBS.

The Basic DBS check shows any unspent criminal convictions or conditional cautions. It can be requested by individuals or employers and provides a general indication of a person’s recent criminal history, but it is not designed for assessing suitability for sensitive roles.

Key Features

  • Conducted via accredited API integration with the UK Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS)
  • Compliant with distinct legal frameworks across the UK: England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands
  • Includes secure digital identity validation via IDSP using certified IDVT and biometric technology
  • Real-time digital reporting with details of convictions (excluding spent records per the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974)
  • Managed entirely by iCOVER agents for end-to-end screening support

Purposes:

  • Confirm candidate suitability for employment or regulated roles
  • Reduce exposure to legal, reputational, and operational risks
  • Satisfy pre-employment due diligence under KYE, KYC, and  KYP frameworks
  • Fulfill legal obligations for employers making suitability decisions in England and Wales
Turn Around Time (TAT): 4 business days

Whether you’re a customer or a candidate, visit the KYO platform to discover how we’re redefining identity validation.

KY Orchestra

Get Started with our Disclosure & Barring Service (Basic)

Click below to request a demo or contact us to learn how we can help with your background screening and risk assessment needs.
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Candidate Instructions

iCOVER sends the candidate secure email instructions and document requirements.

Digital ID Verification:

Candidate documents are verified via KYO application using IDVT (Identity Document Validation Technology) and biometric authentication under the UK Digital Identity & Attributes Trust Framework.

Submission to DBS:

iCOVER applies and supporting documentation to DBS via API.

Result Collection & Reporting:

DBS provides results to iCOVER, which compiles a comprehensive final report for the client.

Case Submitted

Email send to the candidate

The follow up emails will be sent if the candidate doesn’t start or complete the DBS (Basic) process

If the candidate does not start or complete the DBS (basic) after 3 follow-ups emails, the case will be closed as “Refusal to Verify”

Candidate received the email instructions and starts the DBS (basic) process

iCover will verify the personal data against the document’s build in security features this includes checking machine readable code (MRZ) barcodes and verifying the candidates identity with facial recognition technology vie the KY Orchestra platform

iCOVER will submit the DBS request via API, and receive the results (digital)

The result will be tranfared to IRIS platform

Report to closed as CLEAR

Report is polulated

Quality control and fraud review

Report to closed as Review

Report

After a check, whether it results in a “NO NEGATIVE RECORDS FOUND” or “RECORDS FOUND” status, a report is generated with the following key features:

Outcomes:

  • No Negative Records Found:
    • Inquiry Results: No records found
    • Country Component Clearance: CLEAR
    • Source(s): Official UK authorities

 

Records Found:

  • Report includes:
    • Date of Conviction
    • Case Number
    • Court/Location
    • Offense Type
    • Sentence Details (Legal authority, article, sentence date, duration, termination date)
    • Personal Identifiers (Name, DoB, Birthplace, Address)
    • Source(s)

Global Coverage:

Expanded Country Catalog

We’re excited to announce the latest countries added to our DBS (Basic) England & Wales catalog. Need detailed information about specific countries? Contact us, and we’ll provide all the information you need on demand!

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