The CRB Check

Anyone looking to volunteer with our organisation needs to have a currently valid disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), sometimes called a “CRB check”. 

In this section:

• About the Criminal Records
• About the Disclosure
• How to apply for a CRB check through MAP
• Applying for a CRB check yourself
• Information for overseas students and people recently arrived in the UK

About the Criminal Records Bureau

The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) is an executive agency of the Home Office. They provide access to criminal records and other information for organisations in England and Wales through a service called Disclosure. The purpose of disclosure is to help organisations make more informed decisions when recruiting people into positions of trust.

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About the Disclosure

To be valid, a disclosure must have been undertaken in the last 12 months. The CRB's Disclosure service provides access to a range of different types of information, such as:

• Data held on the Police National Computer (PNC), such as, convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings in England, Wales and those recorded from Scotland. There is also some Northern Ireland conviction data held on PNC
• Data held by local police forces relating to relevant non-conviction information
• Data from the Government's Protection of Children Act List (PoCA)
• Data from the Government's Protection of Vulnerable Adults List (POVA)
• Data held by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) under Section 142 of the Education Act 2002 (formerly known as List 99)

The disclosure can be to a standard or enhanced level. To work as a volunteer or leader for MAP you will need to have an Enhanced Disclosure. Enhanced Disclosures are for posts involving a far greater degree of contact with children or vulnerable adults. In general, the type of work will involve regularly caring for, supervising, training or being in sole charge of such people. Enhanced Disclosures contain the same information as Standard Disclosures but with the addition of local police force information considered relevant by Chief Police Officer(s). 

For more information on the kinds of information gathered by the CRB, and the differences between Standard and Enhanced Disclosures, please click here to go to the CRB website. 

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How to apply for a CRB check through MAP

1. You can request a CRB form (called a “Disclosure Application Form”) from Laura Burling at MAP – Laura will post this out to you.
2. You should fill in the form and then arrange to bring it to the MAP office for us to confirm your identity.
3. Please bring your CRB form with you as well as 1 piece of photo identification (like a passport or new driving license) AND 2 proofs of address (such as utility bills or bank statements). Please click here to view a list of acceptable ID documents. 
4. We will then confirm you identity by completing an Identification Verification Form in your presence.
5. We will then send off your forms and confirmation to the CRB.
6. You may have to wait up to four months for your Enhanced Disclosure – you can telephone the CRB or use their online service at any time to track the progress of your disclosure.

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Applying for a CRB check Yourself

You can apply yourself by telephone or by using the website.

• The phone number for the CRB is 0870 9090 811,
• The CRB website is www.crb.gov.uk

Things to remember when applying yourself:

1. You need to ask for an Enhanced Check.
2. The registered body number to quote when asked is: 201 387 000 05 (Manchester Social Services).
3. You will be asked what role you will have within a specific project. Please make sure you say that you are applying to be a volunteer.
4. CRB will then send you a form, which you will need to complete and then have signed by a social services counter-signatory. You will still need to bring the form in to us to confirm your identity (see steps 2 & 3 in the section above).

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Information for overseas students and those recently arrived in the UK

If you are interested in any of MAP's volunteering opportunities and you have not lived in the United Kingdom for the last 5 years you will need a letter of good conduct or a certificate from your country of origin that states you have no criminal convictions and you are suitable to work with vulnerable people. For more information please click here to go to the overseas page of the CRB website. If your country is not on that list, you will need to contact your embassy to find out how to go about getting a check. There is a list of embassies on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website www.fco.gov.uk

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