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The UK Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has recently launched updated guidance for manual ID checks in DBS criminal record checks. This change is designed to bring manual identity verification up to the same rigorous standards as digital identity verification (IDVT), ensuring greater consistency, security, and trust in the employment screening process.
For businesses navigating right to work, identity, eVisa, imposter prevention, and criminal record checks, the latest DBS update is a pivotal moment. At Rightcheck, we’re uniquely positioned to help you stay fully compliant, whether your candidates are tech-savvy or require manual document checks.
What’s Changing?
- The DBS is now mandating stricter rules for manual ID verification:
- Manual checks must closely mirror the digital IDVT process.
- Tighter document requirements and identity assurance levels.
- Greater focus on detecting fraudulent documents.
- More explicit employer responsibilities when digital checks aren’t feasible.
The Opportunity for Employers – These changes mean employers must now be more diligent than ever when conducting manual checks. Simply ‘seeing a passport’ is no longer enough. Checks must follow formal procedures, with records kept to prove compliance.
Failing to meet these standards risks invalid checks, legal non-compliance, and reputational damage.
Why are Manual Document Checks for DBS Now Considered a Risk? Some providers lack the technology — such as a mobile Recruiter App — to accurately capture images of original ID and address documents during manual checks. It is understood that in some cases, providers have relied merely on an honesty-based or tick-box approach, without securing hard evidence. This introduces serious vulnerabilities, as such steps can be easily circumvented or even abused. Without proper evidence capture, there is a real risk that the individual presenting themselves is not who they claim to be, ultimately undermining the integrity of the DBS check. This creates both a compliance risk and a safeguarding risk, potentially exposing organisations to legal, reputational, and operational consequences.
Why?
Rightcheck is the Smarter Choice – Rightcheck enables your organisation to handle the entire spectrum of employee screening with one trusted platform, fully aligned with the latest DBS and Home Office guidelines:
1. Right to Work Checks (Digital and Manual)
- Conduct compliant digital IDVT right to work checks in seconds.
- Fall back to compliant manual checks when needed, without gaps.
2. Identity Verification (Digital and In-Person)
- Seamlessly verify candidate identity using biometric facial matching and document authentication.
- In-person app for manual verification and audit trail capture.
3. eVisa Checks (Share Codes)
- Effortlessly check candidates with eVisas, Settled Status, and BRP cards using share codes.
- Full Home Office integration.
4. Imposter Detection
- Liveness detection and facial matching technology ensures the person presenting the documents is genuine.
5. Criminal Record Checks (DBS, Basic, Standard, Enhanced)
- Integrate DBS checks directly through the platform.
- Benefit from compliant ID checking procedures, whether the check is digital or manual.
Built for Compliance, Designed for Simplicity With Rightcheck, you:
- Always meet the latest DBS, Home Office, and government standards.
- Reduce administrative burden and avoid costly errors.
- Provide a frictionless candidate experience.
- Gain a complete, auditable record of every check.
The DBS’s updated manual ID guidance highlights a growing regulatory focus on identity assurance across the UK workforce. By choosing Rightcheck, you gain a future-proof solution that makes compliance easy, secure, and scalable — whether your candidates prefer smartphones, documents, or a combination of both.
Stay ahead of the curve. Protect your organisation. Trust rc.sevn7labs.co.uk/.
Get in touch today to find out how we can future-proof your employee screening processes.
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