It's Friday afternoon. A teacher walks in to register, good CV, three years in a primary school up the road. A school has already asked if you have anyone for Monday. Their DBS certificate is from another agency, issued last spring. Can you use it?
We ran an education agency for seven years, and that question came up most weeks. The answer depends on two things: whether the certificate is the right kind, and whether the teacher subscribes to the DBS Update Service. This guide covers the DBS check education recruitment agencies need for supply teachers, how to use the Update Service, and what the checks cost now that the fees have changed. It's written for agencies placing in schools in England.
Which DBS check does a supply teacher need?
There are four types of DBS check. The government describes them like this:
- Basic: unspent convictions and conditional cautions.
- Standard: spent and unspent convictions and cautions.
- Enhanced: the same as standard, plus any information held by local police that's considered relevant to the role.
- Enhanced with barred lists: the same as enhanced, plus whether the person is on the list of people barred from doing the role.
A supply teacher working in a school needs the last one: an enhanced check with the children's barred list. Teaching in a school is regulated activity, the legal term for work that a barred person must not do. A basic or standard certificate doesn't show the barred list at all, so it can't clear a teacher, however recent it is.
Why the barred list matters most to an agency
The barred list is where the law reaches the agency directly. Under section 9 of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006, a "personnel supplier" commits an offence if it supplies someone to another organisation, knowing or having reason to believe they'll be doing regulated activity from which they're barred. The Act defines a personnel supplier as anyone carrying on an employment agency or an employment business. That's you.
The maximum penalty is five years in prison. The barred person commits an offence too, under section 7, but that doesn't help the agency that sent them.
So the barred list result is the part of the check you can't wave through. Read it on every certificate, and keep a record that you did.
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How the DBS Update Service works for supply agencies
Without the Update Service, every new agency a teacher registers with would mean a new DBS application and a wait. With it, you can check an existing certificate online in minutes.
The teacher pays £15 a year to subscribe. They have to join within 30 days of their certificate being issued, or they can join when they apply. After that window closes, the only way in is a fresh check.
To run a status check you need the teacher's permission, and you have to be legally entitled to ask for a check of that kind for the role. The check is free and you don't need to register. You get one of four results:
- "This DBS certificate did not reveal any information and remains current as no further information has been identified since its issue."
- "This DBS certificate remains current as no further information has been identified since its issue."
- "This DBS certificate is no longer current. Please apply for a new DBS check to get the most up-to-date information."
- "The details entered do not match those held on our system. Please check and try again."
The first two mean you can treat the certificate as current. Ask to see the original as well, because the status check only tells you whether anything has changed. It doesn't show you what was on the certificate in the first place.
There's one catch that trips agencies up. The certificate has to match the role you're placing for, at the same level and for the same workforce. A teacher with an enhanced certificate for the adult workforce, from a care job say, can't use it to work in a school. They need a child workforce certificate. Check the workforce line on the original, not only the level.
Checking again, and what to do if the status changes
DBS doesn't tell you when a status changes. You have to look. The DBS searches barred list and conviction information every week, so a status check is a live picture of the certificate. A status check before each new booking, and on a fixed cycle for teachers on long placements, is a sensible habit.
If a check comes back "no longer current", the DBS guidance recommends you talk to the teacher about why. Then ask for a new DBS check. What you do with their bookings in the meantime is your decision to make, and to write down.
What DBS checks cost from October 2026
DBS cut its fees on 5 October 2026:
| Check | Fee from 5 October 2026 | Before |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | £20 | £21.50 |
| Standard | £20 | £21.50 |
| Enhanced (with or without barred lists) | £41 | £49.50 |
| Update Service, per year | £15 | £16 |
Checks for volunteers stay free. If you use an umbrella body or another registered body to process applications, they may add their own admin fee on top.
The Update Service subscription now costs less than half an enhanced check. For a teacher who works through more than one agency over a few years, that's an easy case to make at registration.
DBS is one check out of several
A clear DBS certificate doesn't mean a teacher is ready to place. It says nothing about whether they're allowed to teach.
A prohibition order from the Teaching Regulation Agency is a separate thing, and it doesn't show on a DBS certificate. For that you use the DfE's Check a teacher's record service, which also shows qualified teacher status and whether they passed induction. The service says to check before the teacher starts working for you, and it's open to supply agencies.
Then come the checks that take the longest: identity, right to work, qualifications, employment history with any gaps explained, and references. In our experience the DBS is rarely what holds up a Monday start. The second reference is. We've written separately about what KCSiE says about references, checking a teacher's references and right to work checks for agencies.
When a school books you, it will want written confirmation that all of this has been done. If you're working with an academy trust under the new framework, it will want to see it too: our guide to RM6376 covers what trusts are asking for.
Keeping the record straight
Back to Friday. The teacher's certificate is enhanced, child workforce, with the barred list, and they joined the Update Service when they applied. You run the status check with their permission, it comes back current, you see the original, you check their record on the DfE service. The DBS side is done in ten minutes. What's left is the references.
If a case doesn't fit neatly, say a certificate for the wrong workforce or a status check that comes back changed, ask us the question. You get a plain answer with the rule behind every point.
PassQ keeps all of this on one worker record: the DBS certificate and each status check with its date, right to work, qualifications and references, chased by phone, email and WhatsApp until they're back. When a school or trust asks what you checked and when, the answer is already in one place. See PassQ for education agencies or book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
What DBS check does a supply teacher need? An enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list. The enhanced check shows spent and unspent convictions and cautions plus any relevant local police information. The barred list part shows whether the person is barred from working with children.
Can an agency accept a DBS certificate from another agency? Yes, if the teacher subscribes to the DBS Update Service and the certificate is the right level and workforce: enhanced, for the child workforce. With the teacher's permission you run a free online status check, which tells you straight away whether the certificate is still current.
How much does a DBS check cost in 2026? From 5 October 2026 an enhanced DBS check costs £41, down from £49.50. A basic or standard check costs £20, and the Update Service costs £15 a year. Registered bodies that process checks may add their own admin fee.
How long does a teacher have to join the Update Service? 30 days from the date the certificate is issued. They can also join when they apply, using the application reference number. After 30 days they would need a new check to join.
Does the DBS check show whether a teacher is prohibited from teaching? No. A prohibition order from the Teaching Regulation Agency is a separate check. You find it on the DfE's Check a teacher's record service, which also shows qualified teacher status and induction.
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