Transport operators DBS application guidance

The online DBS application form requires you to record details of certain documents (if you have them) in the application form. It will therefore help you to have the following documents available before starting:

• National Insurance number
• passport
• driving licence

• all fields marked with an asterisk (*) at the right-hand side of the box are mandatory and must be completed
• where you see an ‘i’ icon, this indicates that there is information available that you should read to help you fill in the field correctly

The first part of the DBS check process is to provide documentary evidence on a face-to-face basis to your manager to prove your identity.

Please refer to the DBS identity check guidance on the government’s website which details what documentation will be accepted. It is important that you review the list. To avoid any delays or inconvenience, please ensure that you adequately prepare to provide the required documentation.

Common types of evidence used include:

Group one

• passport (must be in date), current driving licence, and council tax bill issued in the last 12 months

Group two

• current driving licence, birth certificate issued within 12 months of birth, and council tax bill issued in the last 12 months

Group three

• passport (must be in date), birth certificate issued within 12 months of birth, and utility bill issued in the last three months (this cannot be a mobile phone bill and it cannot be printed from the internet)

You should also print off and complete a passenger transport vetting procedures consent form which should be given to your employer / verifier, along with a passport-style photograph, to check and verify the information and that you are the individual in the photograph. The form and photograph (with your full name and date of birth printed on the reverse) should then be posted to integrated passenger transport. Failure to submit the form and photograph will delay the application process and subsequently the notification of your disclosure result via your employer.

You need to complete all sections on the application form as follows:

Personal / applicant details

Please complete all mandatory fields. Please take care to record your surname and forename in the correct fields.

Address details

If you have lived at a different address in the past six years, you will need to record details of ‘from’ and ‘to’ dates. Please make sure that the postcode is recorded in uppercase. If you have lived in any of the Channel Islands, you will need to select the UK as the country.

Personal documents

If you hold any of the following documents, you must record the appropriate identity numbers on the form:

• National Insurance number
• passport number
• driving licence number

If you are a driver for a transport operator you must include your driving licence number. 

Driving licence

Your driving licence number contains the first five letters of your surname (or all if it is shorter than five letters) and your first two initials (only one initial if you do not have a middle name). Validation is applied to compare this information with data recorded on other parts of the form. If you are experiencing a problem with your driving licence number, please check it is not due to one of the following reasons:

1. If you have changed your name since originally applying for your driving licence and have not updated your name (for example, recently married), then for the purposes of verifying your identity, your licence is not valid. To submit the application form successfully, you will need to answer ‘No’ to the following question - Do you have a valid driving licence?
    
2. If you did not include your middle name when applying for your driving licence, for the purposes of submitting your online DBS application, you must leave the middle name section of the DBS application form blank.

Declaration

Please read and select all questions in this section.

Submit the form

You will be required to sign an electronic consent form. Once you have done this it will take a few seconds to refresh the page and give you the option to submit the application form. Make sure you wait for the page to load and select submit.

You will receive an email to confirm receipt using the email address that you received the application form link to. All correspondence will be sent to this email address so please make sure that you regularly check your email account.

You will not be able to submit the form if there is missing data or if you have entered data into a field in an incorrect format. When you try to click next it will let you know at the top of the form what needs to be corrected.

Once we receive your online application form, we will match this with your verified evidence and submit the full application to the National DBS who will carry out the DBS check. 

On completion, DBS National will send you a paper DBS certificate to your home address. In those circumstances where your certificate contains information, you must provide this to us for consideration. For us to complete this task you should take your original certificate to your employer. Your employer will authenticate the certificate, scan and send it to the DBS team for consideration by a designated decision maker. Any queries regarding the information revealed should be discussed with integrated passenger transport. When we receive your DBS check information it will be reviewed and consideration as to whether you are suitable to work on transport contracts will be given. Your employer will be provided with notification of the outcome of this process which will then be passed on to you.    

Having a conviction to declare does not necessarily prevent you from being engaged in the post that you wish to work in. We positively support the Rehabilitation of Offenders and take a balanced approach.

All information disclosed will be dealt with in the strictest confidence in compliance with data protection.

Any communication which we send you will be via the email address stated on your application form. It is therefore important that you check your email and also the applicant centre as this will provide you with updates regarding the status of your clearance.