How to get a DBS check when you're self-employed
The rules changed in January 2026. Self-employed tutors, coaches and carers can now get enhanced checks that were previously impossible without an employer.
Quick answer
This changed recently and most guidance online is out of date. Until 21 January 2026, a self-employed person could only get a basic DBS check on themselves — which shows unspent convictions only. From 21 January 2026, self-employed individuals working in paid regulated activity can apply for an enhanced check, including barred list checks, through a registered umbrella body. You still can't apply directly to the DBS for your own enhanced check; it goes through the umbrella body.
The three levels of DBS check
| Level | What it shows | Self-employed access |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Unspent convictions only | Apply directly, anyone |
| Standard | Spent + unspent, cautions | Only if role is eligible |
| Enhanced | Plus police intelligence | Via umbrella body, if in regulated activity |
| Enhanced + barred list | Plus barred list check | Via umbrella body, since 21 Jan 2026 |
Step-by-step
- 1
Understand the problem that just got fixed
The old position was genuinely odd. A self-employed tutor, sports coach or carer could only obtain a basic check on themselves, showing unspent convictions. There was no route to an enhanced check without an employer to countersign, which meant someone on the children's barred list could work privately with families and still show a clean basic certificate. Parents reasonably assumed a DBS check meant more than it did.
- 2
Know what changed on 21 January 2026
Following a statutory instrument laid in November 2025, self-employed individuals engaged in paid regulated activity can, from 21 January 2026, apply for enhanced DBS checks including barred list checks through a registered umbrella body. If you read guidance saying the self-employed can only get basic checks, it predates this change — a great deal of published content still says exactly that.
- 3
Work out whether you're in regulated activity
Eligibility for the enhanced route depends on doing regulated activity, which has a specific meaning rather than a general one. For work with children, a common threshold is frequency — for example, teaching or coaching the same child more than three times in a 30-day period, or overnight. Unsupervised teaching, training, care or supervision of children, and certain personal care for adults, are typically in scope. One-off or occasional work often isn't.
- 4
Apply through a registered umbrella body
You still can't apply to the DBS directly for your own enhanced check — the application goes through an umbrella body registered with the DBS, which verifies your identity and eligibility and submits it. Choose one, confirm they handle self-employed applications under the new provisions, and have your identity documents ready. There's a DBS fee plus the umbrella body's administration fee.
- 5
Join the Update Service the moment your certificate arrives
The Update Service costs a small annual subscription and lets you keep one certificate current and reusable, so clients can check its status online instead of you paying for a fresh check repeatedly. You have to subscribe within a limited window after the certificate is issued, so do it immediately rather than filing the certificate away. For anyone self-employed this is the single most useful administrative step here.
- 6
Understand what clients can and can't do
A family hiring you directly can ask to see your certificate, and you can show it to them — but they can't submit an application on your behalf, and they can't obtain a check about you themselves. That's precisely why the self-employed route matters. Keep the original certificate safe; only you receive a copy, and replacing it means reapplying.
- 7
Use it as a trust signal, carefully
For tutors, coaches, childminders and carers, an enhanced check with barred list is a strong differentiator, and parents increasingly know to ask. State on your website that you hold one and that it's on the Update Service so it can be verified as current. Don't publish the certificate number or images of it — say you hold one and will show it on request.
Tips & best practices
- ▸Guidance saying the self-employed can only get a basic check is out of date — that changed on 21 January 2026.
- ▸You still can't apply directly for your own enhanced check; it goes via a DBS-registered umbrella body.
- ▸Eligibility depends on doing regulated activity, which has a specific legal meaning — check yours.
- ▸Join the Update Service immediately; the window after issue is limited and it saves repeat fees.
- ▸Say on your site that you hold a check and will show it on request. Never publish the certificate itself.
- ▸Verified July 2026. England and Wales — Scotland uses Disclosure Scotland and Northern Ireland AccessNI.
Common questions
Can a self-employed person get an enhanced DBS check?
+−
Yes, since 21 January 2026. Self-employed individuals engaged in paid regulated activity can apply for an enhanced check, including barred list checks, through a DBS-registered umbrella body. Before that date only a basic check was available to the self-employed, which is what most older guidance still says.
How do I get a DBS check without an employer?
+−
For a basic check, apply directly through the DBS yourself. For an enhanced check, apply through a registered umbrella body, which verifies your identity and eligibility and submits the application. You cannot apply to the DBS directly for your own enhanced check even under the new rules.
What's the difference between a basic and enhanced DBS check?
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A basic check shows unspent convictions only. An enhanced check shows spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings, plus any relevant police intelligence — and where eligible, whether you're on the children's or adults' barred lists. The gap between them is exactly why the January 2026 change mattered.
Do private tutors need a DBS check?
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There's no blanket legal requirement for a private tutor working directly for families, but it's increasingly expected and many agencies and parents insist. If you tutor the same child regularly — commonly more than three sessions in a 30-day period — you're likely in regulated activity and eligible for an enhanced check with barred list, which is now the meaningful one to hold.
How long does a DBS check last?
+−
There's no expiry date on the certificate itself — it's a snapshot of the day it was issued. Organisations set their own renewal expectations, often every one to three years. Subscribing to the Update Service keeps a certificate current and lets clients verify its status online, which avoids repeatedly paying for new checks.