UK recruitment checks
DBS and background checks for domestic staff
A Basic DBS check can be used for any position, but Standard, Enhanced and barred-list checks are restricted to legally eligible roles. For a nanny, housekeeper, cleaner or companion, decide the level from the actual duties rather than the job title, then combine any appropriate DBS certificate with references, identity and right-to-work evidence.
What DBS check can you get for a nanny, housekeeper or cleaner?
A Basic DBS check has no role-eligibility requirement and can be requested for employment. Standard and Enhanced checks are available only where the duties meet the statutory eligibility rules. Enhanced checks can be appropriate for certain work with children or adults, and a barred-list check is available only where the role is eligible for that additional check.
Because domestic job titles can hide very different duties, use the DBS eligibility guidance or eligibility tool for the actual role. This is general recruitment information, not legal advice about a particular employee.
The four DBS check levels.
The disclosure becomes broader at higher levels, but the household cannot simply choose the highest level it prefers.
Why the domestic job title is not enough to decide eligibility.
Childcare duties can create enhanced-check eligibility.
Regularly caring for, training, supervising or being solely in charge of children can fall within enhanced DBS eligibility. The precise barred-list position still depends on the statutory activity and circumstances.
Household management alone does not automatically justify an enhanced check.
If the role is cleaning, laundry, cooking and organisation without eligible child or adult activity, use the eligibility guidance rather than assuming the private-home setting is enough.
A normal cleaning role may only support a Basic check.
Basic checks can be used for any position. Higher levels require the actual duties to meet the legal eligibility conditions.
Non-clinical companionship and regulated activity are not the same thing.
Adult barred-list eligibility is linked to specified regulated activities, not simply spending time with an older or vulnerable person. Check the exact duties before requesting a higher-level certificate.
How should a private household approach a DBS check?
What does the DBS Update Service do?
The Update Service can allow an employer or private individual to check whether certain existing DBS certificate information is current, where the applicant has subscribed and gives permission. It does not turn an ineligible certificate level into an eligible one, and the household still needs to confirm the certificate belongs to the applicant and is appropriate to the role.
For personal employees and self-employed people using the 2026 Enhanced-check route, DBS guidance specifically notes that a private individual can ask to see the original certificate and use the Update Service where appropriate.
From our work: we keep references, right to work and criminal-record checks as separate evidence.
Filipino Domestic Services' current staffing process starts with the household role and recurring duties, then moves into candidate interviews and checks. That sequence is important for DBS because the lawful check level follows the work itself. A household cannot decide that every Filipino nanny, housekeeper or cleaner should have the same certificate and then work backwards to justify it.
The older FDS background-check article used broad “comprehensive background check” language that risked making several evidence types sound interchangeable. The rebuild separates them. A previous employer reference can confirm work dates and duties. A right-to-work check verifies permission to work. Identity documents support identity verification. A DBS certificate, where the role is eligible for the requested level, provides criminal-record information within that statutory scheme.
This means our practical advice to a household is to write down what each check is meant to answer before requesting it. For example, an enhanced certificate does not prove that a candidate managed similar children well, and a strong reference does not prove current right to work. Each evidence source has a different question.
We also avoid promising that every introduced candidate has an enhanced DBS certificate. The correct position depends on the role, certificate status and lawful application route at the time. The household should review the evidence relevant to its own vacancy before employment starts.
A DBS check is not a right-to-work check.
Criminal-record disclosure and immigration status answer different legal questions. Use the right-to-work check guide for the employer's statutory check process and keep the records distinct.
For the wider evidence sequence, check domestic staff references and review the domestic staff vetting process.
DBS and background-check questions.
Does every nanny need an enhanced DBS check?
Nanny duties can be eligible for an Enhanced check, but the household should use the current DBS eligibility guidance for the actual work and determine separately whether a barred-list check is permitted. Do not request a higher level without lawful eligibility.
Can I get a DBS check for a housekeeper or cleaner?
A Basic DBS check can be used for any position. Standard and Enhanced checks are restricted to eligible roles, so ordinary cleaning or housekeeping duties do not automatically justify a higher-level check.
Can a private household apply for an enhanced check?
Application routes depend on the worker's status. From 21 January 2026, eligible paid self-employed workers and personal employees can apply for Enhanced or Enhanced-with-barred-list checks through an umbrella body. Check current DBS guidance for the actual arrangement.
What is the DBS Update Service?
It can let an authorised checker see whether certain information on a subscribed DBS certificate is current, with the applicant's permission. The certificate still needs to be appropriate to the role and identity must still be checked.
Is a DBS certificate proof that someone is safe?
No single check is a suitability guarantee. A DBS certificate contains specified criminal-record information. The household still needs role-relevant interviews, references, right-to-work checks and its own recruitment judgement.
Is a DBS check the same as a background check?
“Background check” is a broad phrase. DBS is one statutory criminal-record disclosure system. References, identity, right to work, qualifications and driving records are different checks and should not be blurred together.
Official sources and legal boundary.
DBS eligibility is a regulated recruitment issue. The page uses current Disclosure and Barring Service guidance and remains general information, not legal advice for an individual household.
Choose the check from the duties, then keep the evidence sources separate.
Use references for previous work, DBS for eligible criminal-record disclosure and right-to-work checks for legal permission to work.