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May 17 2018

Please find below an update for the checks that have had a change of process, requirements or forms. 

UK Criminal Basic England and Wales Results
Verifile has been working with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) to understand why some basic checks have been taking longer than expected. We have identified an issue which is affecting the provision of a very small number of basic check results. Results are not being communicated to Verifile, so those checks appear to be processing. Verifile has identified all affected orders and is urgently working to ensure results are received and are available to our clients as quickly as possible.

Identity Checks for England and Wales DBS Checks
We would like to remind clients ordering England and Wales criminal checks (basic, standard and enhanced) that when confirming the candidates’ identity on our platform, you are confirming that you have undertaken the identity check according to the DBS Code of Practice, which includes:

  1. Meeting the candidate in person (face to face)
  2. Seeing the candidate’s original identity documents (not just photocopies)
  3. Checking that the appearance of the candidate matches their date of birth and the photograph on the documents
  4. Checking that the documents appear to be genuine with no signs of tampering
  5. Checking that personal details on the documents match those entered by the candidate on the Verifile screening form (please call us if you notice any differences)

These responsibilities can be split. For example, the line manager may carry out steps 1 to 4 in the presence of the candidate, and HR may carry out step 5. However, if splitting, please ensure that HR have copies of the identity documents in order to carry out step 5 correctly.

If the identification check isn’t carried out correctly, then there is potential for results to be invalid. Please note that sole responsibility does rest with your organisation to undertake the identification check correctly.

UK Criminal Checks in Northern Ireland via AccessNI
AccessNI, the government agency issuing criminal certificates for Northern Ireland, are modernising their IT system over the next 2-3 months. They have given us advance notice that all signatories will be required to create new log-ins and passwords for their NI Direct account. We will provide more information on how this process will work as soon as we receive further details from AccessNI.

Identity Checks for Standard and Enhanced UK Criminal Checks 
​Following the advanced notice in our last newsletter, the list of approved identity documents for criminal record checks (Standard and Enhanced) in England & Wales has now been updated. This change was required by the Disclosure and Barring Service, which is the organisation that searches for convictions and relevant information on the Police National Computer and issues these certificates.

The new list of identity documents is now presented to candidates to choose from on the Verifile platform. To assist you in completing the face to face identity check, we have created an Identity Check Guide that can be found in the Help Guides section after Verifile log in.

Kenya Criminal 
A change in requirements means that two copies of certain documents and an extra application letter are now needed.

Russia Criminal
New Power of Attorney document options are now possible following feedback from candidates.

Belgium Criminal
Individuals with a current official registered address in Belgium are now required to obtain criminal check certificates from their local municipality. We can still process these checks on individuals who reside outside Belgium and who have informed the local authorities that they no longer have a registered address in Belgium.

Ghana Criminal
This service is now available only for residents of Ghana.


If you would like us to send you the current documentation for any of the listed checks please contact us by emailing service@verifile.co.uk