FAQs

The online UCAS form and University postgraduate application form requires applicants to declare any relevant criminal convictions that are not spent, in accordance with The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974). The Act gives people the right not to disclose spent offences, unless the job/activity they are undertaking (including certain college/university course places) is exempt from the Act.

If you are applying for a job/activity that is exempt from the Act, it is acceptable for the employers or professional body to ask that both spent and unspent offences are disclosed, and (in England and Wales) they can carry out criminal record checks with the DBS. A regularly updated list of the positions this covers can be found on the Home Office DBS website.

The results of the DBS check will not necessarily guarantee or preclude you from taking part in the activity in question, but will help us decide whether or not the activity is suitable for you. Please see our information on Criminal Convictions.

This depends on the disclosure you have. Please contact your department's nominated DBS contact with details of your existing disclosure(s).

You may be asked to complete a declaration giving details of relevant criminal behaviour before applying for a DBS check. This is usually only for students applying for a programme of study where admission to the programme relies on a satisfactory DBS check, without which you are unlikely to gain professional recognition. These programmes of study usually require you to declare both spent and unspent convictions. If you are unsure about what to declare, please contact studentdbschecks@kent.ac.uk

This form gives us permission to tell your department that you have completed the DBS check, and to pass on the details of your DBS disclosure to the organiser or regulator of your chosen activity. In obtaining your permission when you submit your application, we are ensuring that you are aware of our intentions to share the results of your application.

If you have any questions or concerns about this form, please contact studentdbschecks@kent.ac.uk

If you have never lived in the United Kingdom, or have spent 6 months or more living abroad in the last 5 years, you will need to provide a 'Police Certificate of Good Conduct' or a CRB / DBS Disclosure from that country. Read the Guidance Information.

If are a Non-UK or Non-EEA National, you will also need to provide your Biometric residence/work permit or your Visa. Please ask your department's nominated DBS contact for further information.

All addresses lived at during the past 5 years must be provided, both UK and overseas.

A current driving licence photocard, either full or provisional (or the paper version if issued before 1998) is acceptable as a valid ID document. There is no longer a requirement to show both parts – however, the paper part of a licence issued after 1998 is not a valid ID document on its own.

In order to be valid, it needs to be in date (you cannot submit an expired licence). If part or all of it has been lost, you will need to replace it before applying for a DBS check. Please see our ‘useful links’ section for details of how to do this.

No. If it is out of date, it is no longer valid. If you do not have sufficient evidence without it, you may need to renew it. The DVLA will usually do this for free unless your photo needs renewing. Please see our ‘useful links’ section for details of how to do this.

If your name or address is incorrect, you can change it for free. Please see our ‘useful links’ section for details of how to do this.

No. If it is out of date, it is no longer valid. If you do not have sufficient evidence without it, you may need to renew it. Please ask your department's nominated DBS contact if you are unsure.

If you live in the UK, and your parents have been claiming child benefits for you, you will have been assigned a National Insurance number. If you have lost your National Insurance card, you can show a payslip or tax statement to verify the number. If you cannot provide evidence of your number, then please leave it blank – this field is no longer compulsory.

This is up to you. Please bear in mind however that whichever address you enter as your current address will be the address to which your disclosure will be sent, and you will need to provide evidence that you live there. Usually a recent bank statement or utility bill will suffice.

You can show that you have two addresses at once by the dates on your application. It is fine for address dates to overlap. Please ask your department's nominated DBS contact for further advice.

Not necessarily. If you are receiving academic credit for the activity, this is counted as payment. Your department’s nominated DBS contact should be able to confirm whether or not you are counted as a volunteer for DBS purposes.

As a guideline, we hope that you will receive your Enhanced DBS Disclosure within eight weeks of submitting your application. This will depend however on whether the information you have provided is sufficient, correct, and easily verifiable. In the meantime, please bear with us.

The process can take longer if you submit your application at a busy time of year, or if the police checks take longer than anticipated. This does not necessarily indicate a problem, but if you are concerned please speak to your department's nominated DBS contact.

You can also track the progress of your application by logging in to First Advantage online.

This will depend on the activity in which you intend to participate. Please contact your department's nominated DBS contact for further advice.

This is determined by the circumstances of the activity in which you intend to participate. Please speak to your department's nominated DBS contact for information regarding the regulations for your programme of study or chosen activity.

If this is the case, you can dispute the information. Please contact studentdbschecks@kent.ac.uk for further details.

Your documents must show your legal name in order to prove your identity. If you have middle names that are not shown on all of your documents, this is fine as long as they appear on the application. If the documents have different names due to either a spelling/administrative error, or because you use more than one version of your name, you will need to ensure you enter all versions used as ‘previous names’, and prove that the documents are yours.

If you have changed your name legally, but have yet to update your documents, this is fine as long as you can provide proof of legal name change from one to the other. Please contact your department's nominated DBS contact for further advice if you are unsure.

The DBS will not issue a new disclosure simply because you have changed your details. However, if your details have changed significantly please contact your department's nominated DBS contact. They will be able to determine whether you will need to provide further evidence of these changes alongside your existing Disclosure, in order to participate in the intended activity.

You should also speak with your departmental administrator regarding your student record file, as the change in your personal details may affect your university registration or graduation details.

If you have lost/damaged your DBS Disclosure, you will need to begin a new application, rather than requesting a reprint, as the period of time since your Disclosure was issued, and any changes to your personal information will need to be checked.

It is worth checking with your department as to whether you can continue without it, as certain activities will only require the details held by the institution, rather than the certificate itself. For example, if you are collecting data in a local school, you would need to find out whether the school was prepared to allow you to continue on the understanding that the University has seen your DBS Disclosure. If you have signed and submitted a DBS data release agreement, then we will be able to confirm this directly to them.