Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Checks Direct is part of the New Directions award-winning group of companies. In addition to Checks Direct, the group also provides specialist recruitment and training support within education, pharmacy and social care, and delivers specialist domiciliary care to individuals and their families.

Checks Direct was formerly known as OnlineDBS, which was launched in 2015. OnlineDBS was given a new look as Checks Direct in 2021.

We believe in being open and transparent when it comes to customer feedback. See our Trust Pilot page for reviews.

We’re fully compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Read our Privacy Policy to see what data we process, how we use it and other relevant information about your data.

OnlineDBS was our identity from 2016 to 2021. Checks Direct became our new identity in 2021, an evolution to reflect our growing range of products and passion to make every check count.

No, there’s no set-up fee to use Checks Direct. Once you’ve registered for free, you can use us as little or as much as you need.

No, there’s no subscription to Checks Direct services. We don’t tie you down to fixed term contracts or annual fees.

If checks are being paid for by the employer, there are two options. You can either pay as you go when you create applications or you can pay later via credit invoice. If checks are being paid for by the applicant, you will receive login details and a link to pay via credit card or debit card. No applications are processed until full payment is received.

We’re an Umbrella Body of the DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service), which means we can act on behalf of the DBS to process criminal record checks for public, private and not-for-profit organisations. We adhere to a strict Code of Practice issued under section the Police Act 1997.

If you’re logged in to your dashboard, simply click ‘Update Password’ at the top of the screen. If you’ve forgotten your password and are unable to access your dashboard, please select ‘Forgotten your password.’ You will be asked to enter your email and press submit. You will then receive a password reset link via email, which you will need to complete within one hour.

Before amending any information on an application, you must ensure the information you’re entering is correct. To make sure of this, always speak with the applicant to query any conflicting information between the application and documents before changing the application.

Once you’ve checked the updates are correct, click the Ref Number and select View Application. On this page, simply select the section you need to update using the headers. Please remember to submit the section to ensure the changes are saved.

If you’re in the process of completing a DBS application and are unable to submit the address history, please first check for any error messages. These will show above or below the current address (depending on the address that has the error).

If you’re unable to quickly spot the issue, please check the following areas where errors may occur:

• Dates – Please ensure the address history dates back exactly five years with no gaps
• Punctuation – Please ensure the addresses include no punctuation (inc. full stops, commas, apostrophes and hyphens)
• Postcode – Please ensure the postcode is formatted correctly (e.g. AA11 1AA)
• Required fields – Please ensure the required fields are completed If you’ve checked the above areas but you’re still having difficulties, please contact one of our advisors who will be able to resolve the issue.

To comply with data protection laws, we only collect personal data we need for our specified purposes, ensure we have sufficient personal data to properly fulfil those purposes, periodically review the data we hold, and delete anything we don’t need. Once we have provided our service to you, and produced the required check, we aren’t required to hold this data for longer than is required.

To comply with the DBS Code of Practice and the Handling of DBS Certificate Information Guidance, we will only keep data for six months following the completion of a check. Non-completed checks will be deleted six months after they were created.

Once we have provided our service to you, and produced the required check, we don’t hold this data for longer than is required.

We do this to comply with the DBS Code of Practice and the Handling of DBS Certificate Information Guidance. DBS certificate information should only used for the specific purpose it was requested for, so this information shouldn’t be kept for any longer than is necessary. The retention period of six months allows for the consideration and resolution of any disputes or complaints.

In line with the DBS Code of Practice and Handling of DBS Certificate Information Guidance, organisations should only keep data for six months following the completion of a check.

However, some organisations which are inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) or Ofsted, and those establishments which are inspected by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW), may be legally entitled to keep the certificate for longer, e.g. for the purposes of inspection.

If this applies to you, we advise that you download and save any certificates in line with your data retention and secure handling policy.

If you didn’t download and save a DBS certificate within the six-month retention period, we recommend that you contact the applicant and ask then to send you a copy of their certificate.