To get an Enhanced DBS check, first establish that the actual role is eligible. The application then has to be submitted through the route authorised for that employer or eligible self-employed applicant.
Is the role eligible for Enhanced?
Confirm Enhanced and any barred-list entitlement before applying.
Check the next step for tutors
Quick takeaways
- CRB is older language; DBS is the current service.
- Different DBS levels exist for different legal purposes.
- Tutors should focus on the route that matches the role.
- A higher level is not automatically appropriate if the role is not eligible.
What an Enhanced DBS check means
An Enhanced DBS check is a higher-level route used where legislation allows it for specific duties, positions or licences. It includes the same conviction information as a Standard check and can also include relevant local police information.
Where the role qualifies, an Enhanced application can also include a check of one or both barred lists. That is particularly important in child- or adult-workforce settings.
- An Enhanced check shows the same core conviction information as a Standard check and can also include relevant local police information.
- An Enhanced check with Barred List(s) adds a check of the children’s barred list, adults’ barred list, or both where the role is entitled to it.
Why Enhanced matters so much for tutors
Enhanced is the level most people have in mind when they think about schools, tutors, agencies and child-facing safeguarding. Even so, it is not something an individual can demand without the right route or legal basis.
That makes route clarity essential. Employed tutors may have the application started by an organisation, while eligible self-employed tutors can now use an umbrella-body route under the 2026 guidance.
Start with the requester
If a school or agency is engaging the tutor, ask it to confirm the level, workforce and who will initiate the application. If the tutor works directly for families as an eligible self-employed person, the tutor uses an umbrella-body route; a parent does not submit the check on the tutor’s behalf.
Whichever route applies, gather the full application history and identity evidence before submission. An old certificate or current Update Service subscription may be relevant to a later suitability decision, but neither establishes that the new role is eligible for Enhanced disclosure.
Continue with the authorised Enhanced route
Apply only when the role, workforce and requester are clear.
What changes when the check is Enhanced
Enhanced questions often overlap with cost, timing and certificate contents. The fee is higher than Basic or Standard, the process can take longer because extra police checks may apply, and the certificate can contain more than basic conviction data.
Clear eligibility and route information matters because Enhanced checks have additional legal and practical requirements.
- Higher official fee than Basic or Standard.
- Potentially longer processing time.
- Additional local-police-information stage.
- Possible barred-list component where entitled.
Next step
Once you are confident the role really points toward an Enhanced route, the next move is to use the correct application path rather than keep comparing terminology.
Do not guess: confirm Enhanced eligibility and the authorised route first.
Common questions
Is CRB the same thing as DBS?
CRB is the older term. DBS is the current service and the term used in modern official guidance.
Can I just choose the highest DBS level to be safe?
No. The role has to be legally entitled to the level requested.
Which DBS level matters most for tutors?
That depends on how the tutoring is arranged and whether the role is eligible for a higher-level check.
Does having a DBS certificate settle safeguarding on its own?
No. A certificate is one part of safer recruitment, not the whole process.
What to do next
Open the Enhanced application route after eligibility is established.