trying to find out.

[Norrin Radd]

I am trying to find out what, or indeed if there is any information on DBS searches ,with regards to possibly starting my own company to do them .
it seems everywhere i look i cant find any relevant info on what sort of clearance or qualifications you need to be able to carry out such searches for customers .
anyone have an idea on where to look?

 

[ruff-driver]

I suspect you need full access to the PNC just to start with.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I don't think you can do them on behalf of others, you can check and process their paperwork, but the actual checking of the person is done by DBS themselves, it's a Government Agencey isn't it?

 

[Hobbit]

I don't think you can do them on behalf of others, you can check and process their paperwork, but the actual checking of the person is done by DBS themselves, it's a Government Agencey isn't it?

Is the correct answer. You will also need a robust QMS detailing your company's data protection processes, and that they are aligned with the EU regs.

 

[Norrin Radd]

not sure about being a gov agency ,there is quite a few companys out there doing them.
I am probably miles off the mark but im betting that it will be a growth industry as more and more companys are asking workers for them.

 

[Hobbit]

We submit our DBS applications via a 3rd party company who 'police' the process but don't actually process the application. Because of the SLA we have with them, based on the number of applications a year, we're paying about £70/application. A percentage of that goes to the govt's DBS dept.

The maths is pretty clear, i.e. the nett payment/profit to the processing company isn't huge. If you're looking to clear £1000/week you'll need to process 50 applications - we're a UK subsidiary of about 600 employees, and we have about 5 individuals a week.

The start up costs, inc the QMS, won't be cheap. We had that part of the QMS written in-house, then verified by solicitors - expensive.

If you're looking at things like DBS processing, you might want to also consider CSCS/NEBOSH/IOSH/Safety Passports etc.

There's a whole raft of industry accreditations that are growing quicker than DBS.