Criminal Record Checks Legalisation in London, UK

A criminal record check is a record of a person’s criminal convictions and cautions carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service in the UK. Criminal record checks, which are also known as DBS checks, are an essential requirement for people applying to work with children or vulnerable adults. The information provided in these documents is used to determine a candidate’s ability for a role in teaching, healthcare, social welfare or any other such sensitive fields. The DBS checks are also required if you are planning to adopt a child. These checks can also be sought by an employer for a prospective employee for any role. 

The DBS checks are used for providing information to an organisation or an employer and are, therefore, carried out on their request. While this document is recognised in the UK, it needs to complete the legalisation process for the criminal record check to be accepted by employers based abroad.

The process of getting a criminal record check or a DBS check involves the following procedures:

• The employer gets a DBS form from the Disclosure and Barring Service, which is a registered umbrella body for issuing criminal record check documents.
• The form is filled by the employee and returned to the employer, along with identity proof documents.
• The employer sends the filled form with the information to the DBS.
• The DBS carries out the relevant checks.
• The DBS certificate is issued to the employee, who can then present it to the employer as proof of there being no criminal convictions.

A person can also get a DBS check without involving his employers. This can be achieved by contacting Disclosure Scotland. You do not need to be a resident of Scotland to use this service. The agency also offers three types of background documents, namely, the basic, standard and enhanced Disclosures, which are effectively the same as the DBS criminal record checks.

When you access the services of Disclosure Scotland, you receive a basic disclosure document, which includes only unspent convictions. (Spent convictions are convictions that have reached a period predefined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Such convictions are removed from the individual’s criminal record. Convictions that have not reached the predefined time are known as unspent convictions. Such convictions will show up during a criminal record check). 

Since only unspent convictions appear on Disclosure Scotland’s disclosure document, employers will still need to complete their own checks before making a hiring decision. A DBS or criminal record check is initiated by the employer only after a candidate has been found to be suitable on all other fronts and meets the requirements for a job. Although there is no expiry of a DBS check, an employer can decide when they require a new one. They can also use the DBS update service to carry out any additional checks on a DBS certificate.

The certificates for criminal record checks need to be legalised, when you apply for a job abroad and require a work visa. Legalisation is the process of authenticating the documents for international use.

The process of criminal records check documents legalisation requires only an apostille certification if the documents are to be presented in a country that is a signatory to The Hague Apostille Convention. However, if a country is not a signatory to The Hague Apostille Convention, there is an additional requirement of submitting the apostilled copies for consular legalisation.

The DBS certificates also require attestation, verification and ratification by a solicitor before they can be submitted for apostille certification to the FCO in UK.