If you are moving overseas and have been asked to provide criminal record checks or police certificates, you may be wondering what the different types of checks are and which document is required for your purposes. This varies in different circumstances, and in some cases either type is acceptable, but there are a few key differences which can affect how the document should be processed before it can be used abroad.
Issuing Bodies – Police Certificates
Police certificates issued by ACRO, the U.K.’s criminal records office, and is signed by an official of this office. A DBS check, on the other hand, is issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service, a government agency which exists to facilitate safe recruitment processes.
Purpose
DBS checks are typically carried out as a preliminary requirement for employment, for use in the U.K. and abroad, while police certificates cannot be used for recruitment purposes in the U.K. Internationally, police certificates are primarily used for immigration purposes, particularly for student and worker visas, while DBS checks are more likely to be requested by the overseas employers themselves. However, it is worth noting that this is not always the case – some countries may be happy to accept a DBS check for immigration, and some overseas businesses may be satisfied with a police certificate as a criminal records check. It is best to check with the embassy and/or your employer overseas, as this general rule does not apply everywhere.
Content
ACRO and the Disclosure and Barring Service have different standards for what is disclosed on their criminal records checks. A police certificate is a more general indication of the presence of a criminal record, while a DBS check has a greater focus on matters which might affect suitability for employment, especially when working with vulnerable people and children or with sensitive information, and it may not disclose certain cautions and spent, non-custodial convictions unless they are relevant to this purpose. For instance, a DBS check will not disclose youth cautions and will de-list a one-time conviction which did not lead to a prison sentence after a certain period, but will always show offenses resulting in prison sentences. There are also certain offenses which cannot ever be removed, regardless of sentencing. [1]
A police certificate, on the other hand, indicates whether the individual has any convictions, cautions and reprimands listed on the Police National Computer (PNC), although depending on the nature of the offense and the time which has elapsed, they may not be detailed in full. While both a police certificate and a DBS check will omit certain infractions, a police certificate will always indicate whether a record exists, even when details are omitted. ‘No trace’ indicates that the individual has no criminal record, while ‘no live trace’ indicates that a criminal record exists but is not considered pertinent – for instance, a certificate may say ‘no live trace’ due to a minor caution from a number of years ago, the details of which would not be included in the certificate. Only a ‘trace’ certificate actually discloses the offenses themselves [2].
The two bodies have different criteria for which crimes are considered to be eligible for being hidden from the record (sometimes referred to as ‘stepped-down’), and which must be detailed in full. This is not a matter of one being stricter, or necessarily more thorough, than the other. For instance, a DBS check may show an offense which a police certificate doesn’t if it was a relatively minor offense but resulted in a custodial sentence, as the PNC steps down offenses of this nature after a certain period of time has elapsed while the DBS details any and all custodial sentences, regardless of the time elapsed. On the other hand, a police certificate may disclose a non-custodial conviction which would have been hidden on a DBS check, as the PNC steps these down after a longer period of time compared to the DBS (12-20 years depending on the nature of the offense, compared to 11 years (adults), or 10-15 years depending on the nature of the offense, compared to 5.5 years (young people)).
Processes
Because of the differences between an ACRO police certificate and a DBS check, the process of legalising these documents varies somewhat. An ACRO police certificate, trace or no trace, will bear a wet-ink signature from an ACRO official, which means that there is no need to notarise it, unless you are not using your original certificate, in which case a certified true copy can be created by a notary using a photocopy. A DBS certificate, however, does not include a signature and thus needs to be notarised before it can be apostilled or used abroad.
Both police certificates and DBS certificates can receive apostilles from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and attestation from embassies, provided they are prepared correctly.
At Pardus Bloom, we frequently arrange notarisation and apostilles for criminal records checks, especially for the purposes of study abroad and immigration. Thanks to our experience, we have a very clear idea of how these documents must be prepared, and we will always handle sensitive documents such as criminal records with complete confidentiality. Please feel free to contact us if you have one of these documents and need assistance with obtaining an apostille or notarisation.
[2] https://www.acro.police.uk/Guidance-for-British-embassies