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Applicant FAQs
Why do I need a CRB check?
If you are going to work as a paid employee or as a volunteer in
a regulated activity for a regulated activity provider, you may be
asked to apply for a CRB check. For example, if you are to work as
a teacher, care worker, scout & guide leader, registered
childminder, sports coach, youth club worker, foster carer or
adoptive parent.
How do I make an application for a CRB check?
You will need to speak to the person who told or asked you to
apply for a CRB check. You will either be asked to: Telephone the
CRB application line on 0870 90 90 844, in which
case you will need to provide the Registered Body name and number
(Please have this information to hand when calling), or complete a
paper application form handed to you by the person who asked you to
apply. In both instances, you will have to provide evidence of your
name, address and date of birth, along with the Registered Body
name and number, and the level of CRB check. This will help the
person who asked you to apply, confirm your identity. A
guidance booklet on how to
complete the form is available here (please note, this booklet
will open in a new browser window).
How do
I get an application form?
CRB application forms are available only to organisations that
are registered directly with the CRB or who use the services of an
organisation that is registered with the CRB. The CRB does not currently
offer an electronic application form or a form that can be
downloaded from the internet. If you need a form you will need to
speak to the person who told or asked you to apply for a CRB
check.
How do
I pay for my CRB
Check?
The CRB charges an application fee. Payment for a CRB check can
be made by personal cheque or postal order for those who do not
have payment on account status. Some organisations may pay for the
CRB check on your behalf. Please check with the person who has
asked you to apply for the CRB checkif this is the case. If you are
a volunteer, the CRB will issue the CRB check free-of-charge. Click
here to see the Definition of a
volunteer
How do I
find out if I am eligible to get a CRB check?
The Exceptions Order to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
(ROA)
1974 lists the types of work, employment or professions on which
you can legally obtain a CRB check.
To view the complete list of eligible
posts and read the CRB Access
Category Codes guidance, click
here
Alternatively, your employer is ultimately best placed to assess
whether a Standard or Enhanced CRB check is required for a specific
role, bearing in mind their legal and other responsibilities
To note: CRB regularly receives enquiries regarding checks being
a mandatory requirement when tendering for contracts. Organisations
insist that a condition of a tender bid is that all staff will be
CRB checked. In many cases the work or services of the contract
would not require a CRB check.
A familiar misconception surrounds contractors
whose services involve working in council or private dwellings and
thus assume that individuals living alone, especially the elderly,
are all vulnerable. The definition of a vulnerable adult can be
found by clicking here.
If any contracting authority or tenderee is
unsure if a position of employment warrants a CRB check they should
contact the Customer Service department at CRB at customerservices@crb.gsi.gov.uk
or call 0870 90 90 811.
It should be noted that it is illegal to
insist that a CRB check forms part of a tender, unless the services
provided meet the criteria for an eligible CRB check as defined by
the Exceptions Order of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
1974.
How
long does a CRB
check take?
The CRB aims to process 90% of Standard checks in 10 days and
90% of Enhanced checks in 4 weeks If you have the application
reference number then you can click
here to use our online tracking service
What
identity documents will I need to provide with my CRB application form?
You will be asked to provide 3 either:
- 3 documents (1 group 1 document plus any 2 such from group 1 or
2) or
- 5 documents from group 2 Follow this link to the applicants guide (new
window) which includes a list of valid Group 1 and Group 2 identity
documents.
This booklet also contains step-by-step notes on how to fill in
the application form. If you have any questions, please call
0870 90 90 844. A language interpretation facility
can be requested if required.
Can I challenge the information revealed on my
CRB check?
Yes. If you have received the results of your CRB check and
there is an error on it or you wish to dispute any of the
information revealed. For more information click here.
You can advise the CRB either by:
- Completing the online form (only
applicable for Data Entry Dispute)
- Calling us on the CRB Disputes Line: 0870 90 90
778
- Sending us a letter to the following address: Data Entry
Disputes Team, 1st Floor South, PO Box 165, Liverpool,
L69 3JD
Disputes should be raised with the CRB within 3 months of
the date of issue of the Disclosure.
Can I
start work before the CRB check is completed?
This will depend upon your employer or in some cases the law.
However, if you either work or have applied to work:
In a school, you may wish to tell the person who asked you to
apply for the CRB check that the Department for Education and Skill
allows applicants, who have applied for a CRB check, to start work
in a school under supervision if they are not included on the
relevant children's barred lists. A TP Online check is
available to schools and can be obtained from their Local Education
Authority.
As a care worker, you may wish to tell the person who asked you
to apply for the CRB check that the Department for Health (DH)
allows applicants, who have applied for a CRB check, to start work
as a care worker under supervision if they are not on the
Vulnerable Adults Barred list - a list of people barred from
working with vulnerable adults.
An ISA Adult
First check is available to care homes,
domiciliary care agencies and adult placement schemes from the CRB,
and it is called ISA Adult First. The person who asked you to apply
for the CRB check can request an ISA Adult First check from the
CRB.
I’ve got a criminal record. Will this stop me from
working for positions that require a CRB check?
Ultimately it is for the employer to decide whether somebody is
suitable to work in a position. However, having a criminal record
should not automatically bar you from a position that requires a
CRB check.
If your conviction included being added to the Children's or
Vulnerable Adults' Barred lists or a court imposed ban on working
in certain professions, then it may be a criminal act to make an
application for employment in those areas.
All Registered Bodies must have a policy on the recruitment of
ex-offenders, which they should make available to you at your
request. This is one of the requirements of the CRB’s Code of
Practice.
View CRB’s Code of Practice in
full here (pdf, 1mb, new window)
Can my convictions be removed from the Police National
Computer?
On the 19th October 2009, a judgement by the Court of Appeal
supported retention of criminal convictions on the Police National
Computer for policing purposes. In particular the police are
obliged, under Part V of the Police Act, to provide the Criminal
Records Bureau with access to all convictions held on the PNC.
Therefore, the stepping down of convictions is no longer
undertaken. In effect this means that all convictions will be
retained on the PNC until an individuals 100th birth date.
Under Part V of the Police Act 1997, the CRB has a statutory
duty to include on a CRB certificate details of every conviction,
caution, reprimand and warning that is recorded on the PNC.
The CRB are not 'data controllers' of the PNC therefore do not
own or determine how information is processed on the PNC.
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