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If you’re not sure whether you’ve heard of DBS Update or not, you’re not alone. The system has been plagued by computer problems since it started, and a project to modernise the entire system is running years over schedule.

Getting a DBS check done is something which thousands of people do each year. There’s a lot of press coverage about the system, which looks into people’s criminal records. Most of the coverage is about the sort of DBS checks which people need to work with children or vulnerable adults.

Rules are there to be broken, right? Well perhaps in some cases. But certainly not when you are applying for your disclosure certificate. The Disclosure and Barring Service has plenty of rules in place and if you ignore them, your application will be rejected.

More of us than ever are taking the option of being self-employed, attracted by the flexibility and the chance to be our own boss. Starting your own business gives you a lot to think about. You’re responsible for everything from tax to attracting customers to health and safety.

One of the biggest misconceptions about DBS checks is that the system is just for people working with children. That’s probably because it was high-profile cases such as the Soham murders which led to the creation of the Disclosure and Barring Service about a decade ago.

One of the main stumbling blocks when applying for DBS checks is the identity checking stage. It should be easy to prove who you are, shouldn’t it? For most people it is indeed fairly simple.

You’ll often head people talking about disclosure checks, DBS checks or even CRB checks, even though that’s old terminology. Although “DBS checks” is perhaps the phrase you’ll hear most often, the Disclosure and Barring Service only operates in England and Wales.

An enhanced DBS check is the most detailed level of check into your criminal record. You’ll sometimes hear this sort of check being referred to as a CRB check, but this sort of terminology is out of date. Many different types of jobs need an enhanced disclosure check.

One of the first things you might spot when you receive your brand new DBS certificate is that it doesn’t have an expiry date on it. That’s the case whether you receive your check from the Disclosure and Barring Service in England and Wales, Protecting Vulnerable Groups in Scotland, or AccessNI in Northern Ireland.

The phrase “DBS check required” is something you’ll often see on a job advert. In fact, it seems so commonplace that you could easily assume that getting a DBS check is standard for all jobs. That’s not the case. Employers are restricted by law in what they can ask, and what type of checks they can run.