As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly arrange a DBS check for a candidate.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open the GOV.UK DBS guidance and your organisation's approved DBS provider account, then confirm whether your organisation applies directly or through an umbrella body.
   2. Write down the job title, duties, contact with children or adults at risk, proposed start conditions and the authorised person responsible for the check.
   3. Paste only those role and process details into the prompt, not the candidate's identity documents, full date of birth, address history, criminal record information or other sensitive personal data.
   4. Ask the chatbot to produce the role-specific checklist and candidate email, then compare every legal or eligibility point against the current GOV.UK guidance and your provider's instructions.
   5. Send the candidate the checked explanation and consent request through your approved HR channel, and collect identity evidence only through the authorised DBS or provider process.
   6. Have the authorised person submit the application, record the consent and access controls in the HR system, and follow the provider's instructions when the certificate is issued.
   7. Before making any employment decision based on the result, give the candidate a fair opportunity to discuss relevant information and refer a serious case to a qualified employment solicitor.

   Prompt

   I need to arrange a UK DBS check for a candidate for [job title] at [organisation type]. The role involves [brief duties and contact with children, adults at risk or neither]. We are using [our registered DBS route, an umbrella body or an online provider].
   
   Create a practical process for the hiring manager covering:
   1. What to confirm about the role and the appropriate type and level of check.
   2. What to explain to the candidate before requesting consent.
   3. Which information and identity evidence the authorised person must collect, without asking me to paste identity documents or sensitive personal data into this chat.
   4. What the authorised person must do in the official DBS or provider system.
   5. How to record consent, restrict access and store or dispose of information appropriately.
   6. What to do when the certificate is issued, including how to give the candidate a fair opportunity to discuss relevant information.
   7. A short, neutral email to the candidate asking for consent and explaining the next steps.
   
   Do not invent fees, processing times, legal requirements, certificate contents or eligibility rules. Distinguish clearly between confirmed GOV.UK requirements, provider instructions and matters that need checking with our HR adviser or employment solicitor. Tell me which points I must verify on GOV.UK before sending the email. This is not professional advice.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.