Background checks for charities and volunteers
Most charity roles need no criminal record check by law. What the law does control, in England and Wales, is who can lead a charity: the automatic disqualification rules stop certain people acting as a trustee, or at chief executive or chief finance officer level, unless the Charity Commission waives the disqualification. The Commission says you must ask a prospective trustee or senior manager to sign a declaration that they are not disqualified.
For staff and volunteers the check follows the duties. A DBS standard or enhanced check is free for someone who meets the DBS definition of a volunteer, but only where the role is eligible for that level; a basic check costs £20 for everyone. Since 1 September 2026, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, people who teach, train, instruct, care for or supervise children often enough, or overnight, can be in regulated activity even if supervised. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own free routes for volunteers.
Who counts as a volunteer for a free DBS check
In England and Wales, DBS defines a volunteer as a person spending time, unpaid apart from travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses, doing something which aims to benefit a third party other than, or in addition to, a close relative. Volunteers do not pay for standard, enhanced or enhanced with barred lists checks, but eligibility is the same as for a paid role.
The applicant must not benefit financially from the position, be paid beyond those expenses, be on a work placement, be a trainee or on a course leading to a full-time role or qualification, or be a paid foster or kinship carer or a member of a foster or kinship care household. DBS may recover the fee if the volunteer box is marked in error, which could result in the cancellation of your DBS registration. Basic checks cost £20 for everyone, and the Update Service is free for volunteers. Our guide to background check costs sets out who qualifies, the exclusions and what happens if a check is wrongly marked as a volunteer check.
Trustees and senior managers: automatic disqualification
The rules apply to trustee and senior manager positions at charities based in England and Wales, registered or not, and not to charities registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Senior manager positions are at chief executive and chief finance officer level, judged by function, not title.
The reasons include unspent convictions for dishonesty or deception offences and particular terrorism, money laundering, bribery, misconduct in public office, perjury and perverting the course of justice offences; sex offender notification requirements; current bankruptcy or a debt relief order; director disqualification; and earlier removal as a trustee for misconduct or mismanagement. The Commission's disqualifying reasons table gives the full list and exceptions. A spent conviction does not disqualify unless the notification requirements apply. It is normally an offence to act while disqualified, but a disqualified person can still volunteer or be employed below senior manager level.
Checking a prospective trustee
Get the declaration before appointment; the Commission says you can ask once a preferred candidate is identified, and should have a system to check that people in post have not become disqualified since, for example by asking for a fresh declaration at reasonable intervals. Then search the Individual Insolvency Register, the Companies House register of disqualified directors and the register of people removed as trustees by the Commission or the High Court since 1 February 1993. When a charity applies to register with the Commission, its trustees also sign a declaration that they have passed any checks required if the charity works with children or vulnerable people.
A disqualified person can, in most circumstances, apply for a waiver covering named charities, a class of charities or all charities. The person applies, not the charity, and is asked whether your trustees support it. The Commission waives only where it is in the charity's best interests and unlikely to damage public trust and confidence. It cannot waive a disqualification set by your governing document or by other legislation, or, for a charitable company or CIO, a director disqualification or bankruptcy where the court has not given leave. It must normally grant a waiver to someone it removed as a trustee 5 or more years ago.
Safeguarding: what the Charity Commission expects
The Commission says trustees must take reasonable steps to protect from harm people who come into contact with the charity, and expects every charity to check that people are suitable to act in their roles. That may mean DBS checks, references and checks on gaps in work history, confirmation that staff can work in the UK, and health checks.
It asks trustees to risk assess all roles for DBS eligibility and level, and always to get a standard or enhanced check when a role is eligible. A charity that uses DBS information must have a policy on recruiting ex-offenders, and a regulated activity provider that stops someone working with children or adults at risk must refer them to DBS where the criteria are met.
Roles with children or adults at risk
Since 1 September 2026, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, someone who teaches, trains, instructs, cares for or supervises children on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or once overnight between 2am and 6am, can be in regulated activity even if someone else supervises them, where the other regulated activity criteria are met. DBS names volunteers in youth groups, charities and community groups among those affected and says organisations should review these roles, though the change creates no new requirement to check.
DBS's charity leaflets say anyone working in a charity shop can apply for a basic check, and fundraising does not in itself make someone eligible for more. But a shop worker who trains and supervises a 15-year-old volunteering 2 days a week is in regulated activity and can have an enhanced check with the children's barred list. Any trustee of a children's charity can have an enhanced check without barred lists; trustees of adults' charities can where the charity's workers do work with adults as the law defines it.
Volunteers in Scotland and Northern Ireland
In Scotland, joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme is a legal requirement for a regulated role with children or protected adults, and membership lasts five years. An organisation gets free PVG checks for volunteers in regulated roles by registering as a qualifying voluntary organisation (QVO). It must be not for profit, and not a school, college or university, a public or local authority, or managed by one. Registering directly with Disclosure Scotland costs at least £125 a year; mygov.scot says the cheapest route is a Scottish Government funded service that offers free enrolment, and other umbrella bodies may charge a fee.
In Northern Ireland, AccessNI gives free standard and enhanced checks to volunteers in non-profit organisations, with exceptions for statutory work; see our guide to background check costs.
Role-based check matrix
England and Wales unless stated.
| Role or activity | Check | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Trustee | Signed declaration before appointment; insolvency, disqualified director and removed trustee register searches | Charity Commission disqualification guidance |
| Trustee of a children's charity | Enhanced DBS without barred lists | DBS charity leaflet; Commission safeguarding guidance |
| Chief executive or chief finance officer level | Declaration and register searches, then checks the duties justify | Charity Commission disqualification guidance |
| Volunteer working with children more than 3 days in 30, or overnight | Eligible for an enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list, free for an eligible volunteer; no new duty to check | DBS guidance on the 1 September 2026 change |
| Volunteer in a charity shop | Basic DBS at most, if justified (£20); enhanced with barred list if supervising a young volunteer often enough | DBS charity leaflets; ICO vetting guidance |
| Fundraiser handling cash | Basic DBS only if the risk justifies it; not a restricted position | DBS charity leaflets; Commission disqualification guidance |
| Paid staff | Right to work check; DBS at the level the duties allow | Home Office guide; ICO vetting guidance |
| Regulated role, Scotland | PVG membership; free for volunteers in regulated roles if the organisation is a qualifying voluntary organisation (QVO) | mygov.scot |
| Standard or enhanced role, Northern Ireland | AccessNI check, free in a non-profit, with exceptions | nidirect |
What to tell the candidate
- Tell people which checks the role needs, why, and how long you keep the results.
- Eligible volunteers pay no DBS fee for standard or enhanced checks or the Update Service.
- If a check shows a record, discuss it with the person and follow your ex-offender policy.
Sources
- Automatic disqualification guidance for charities · GOV.UK (Charity Commission)
- Automatic disqualification rules for charity trustees and charity senior positions · GOV.UK (Charity Commission)
- Why some individuals can't act as charity trustees · GOV.UK (Charity Commission)
- Charity trustee: declaration of eligibility and responsibility · GOV.UK (Charity Commission)
- Safeguarding and protecting people for charities and trustees · GOV.UK (Charity Commission)
- DBS check application process for volunteers · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- DBS checks guidance for employers, voluntary organisations and third parties · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- DBS Update Service · GOV.UK
- Working with children in the charity sector and overseas aid organisations · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- Working with adults in the charity sector and overseas aid organisations · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- Change to the definition of regulated activity with children from 1 September 2026 · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- Regulated activity with children: myth busting the September 2026 Supervision Exemption changes · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- Making barring referrals to DBS · GOV.UK (Disclosure and Barring Service)
- Employer's guide to right to work checks: 1 October 2026 · GOV.UK (Home Office)
- Pre-employment vetting of candidates · ICO
- Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme · mygov.scot
- Get free PVG disclosure checks for volunteers · mygov.scot
- Costs and turnaround times · nidirect
General information for employers in the UK, not legal advice. HRjoy advises on screening policy and fair process. We do not run checks ourselves; where you need checks run, we can introduce you to our screening partners. Check the official sources for your situation.
Checks by role
Required or expected
- Trustees and chief executive or chief finance officer level staff (England and Wales): a disqualification declaration and register searches.
- Staff and volunteers in regulated activity: an enhanced DBS check with the relevant barred list check.
- Trustees of a children's charity: an enhanced DBS check without barred lists, which the Commission expects where a role is eligible.
- Regulated roles in Scotland: PVG scheme membership.
- Every new employee: a right to work check.
Depends on the role
- Shop, fundraising and finance roles with no eligible duties: a basic check, only if your risk assessment supports it.
- Shop staff who train and supervise a young volunteer often enough: an enhanced check with the children's barred list.
Rarely justified
- Standard or enhanced checks for roles that are not eligible, such as most shop and fundraising roles.
- Free volunteer checks for people on work placements, trainees or anyone paid beyond expenses.
- Blanket basic checks on every volunteer.
Questions
Something else? Ask us.
Are DBS checks free for charity volunteers?
In England and Wales, standard and enhanced checks are free for someone who meets the DBS definition of a volunteer, if the role is eligible for that level. Basic checks cost £20 for everyone, and the submitting organisation may add an administration fee.
Does every charity trustee need a DBS check?
No. Every prospective trustee in England and Wales should sign a declaration that they are not disqualified, backed by register searches. A DBS check depends on eligibility: any trustee of a children's charity can be asked for an enhanced check without barred lists, and the Commission says to get one where the role is eligible.
Can someone with a criminal record be a trustee?
Often, yes. Only unspent convictions for listed offences disqualify, alongside the other reasons in the Commission's table; spent convictions do not, unless sex offender notification requirements apply. A disqualified person can apply for a waiver in most circumstances, and the Commission asks whether your trustees support it.
Related checks
- Criminal record checks for employers Which criminal record check a role can lawfully have in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and how to run it fairly.
- Right to work checks: who to check and how from October 2026 Who needs a right to work check from 1 October 2026, including workers and sub-contractors, how each of the three methods works and follow-ups.
- Employment references: what employers can ask and when When to ask for references, what to ask, the sector rules for care, schools, early years and FCA firms, and how to treat candidates fairly.
- Directorship and company checks on job candidates How to check a candidate's directorships and any disqualification on the Companies House register, what it verifies, and when the check is proportionate.
- Financial background checks: bankruptcy, insolvency and judgments Which financial checks a role justifies, and how to use UK insolvency registers and the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines instead of a credit report.
Sector guides
- Pre-employment checks in schools and colleges KCSIE 2026 checks for schools and colleges in England, the single central record, supply staff and volunteers, and the rules in Wales, Scotland and NI.
- Pre-employment checks in childcare and nurseries EYFS suitability checks from September 2026 for nurseries and childminders in England, Ofsted disqualification, household members and the rest of the UK.
- Pre-employment checks in health and social care in England What CQC regulation 19 and Schedule 3 require, which DBS check each care role can have, professional registers and agency staff checks in England.
Guides
- How much do employment background checks cost in the UK? The official fees for DBS, Disclosure Scotland and AccessNI checks, which checks are free, and the other costs employers meet when screening candidates.
- Which pre-employment checks are mandatory, and which are optional? A role and sector matrix of UK pre-employment checks: which the law requires, which a regulator expects and which are optional.
Related answers
- How do employers carry out right to work checks? Before someone starts work, employers should carry out one of three prescribed checks: a manual check of original documents, a Home Office online check using a share code, or a check through a registered right to work digital verification service provider. Done correctly, it gives a statutory excuse against a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per illegal worker.
- How should employers handle an employee subject access request? Employers should recognise the request, which can be made verbally or in writing, confirm the person's identity if needed, make a reasonable and proportionate search and respond without undue delay and within one month. Complex requests can be extended by up to two months. A fee usually cannot be charged, and information about other people may need redacting.
- What are the protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010? The Equality Act 2010 lists nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. In Great Britain, employers must not discriminate against job applicants, workers or former workers because of any of them.