This is the area with the most specific legal constraints. The DBS Code of Practice, ICO guidance, and safeguarding retention requirements all bear on it.
What we MUST keep on the DBS Log
For every check, a single line entry in a secure, access-controlled DBS Log:
| Field | Example | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Volunteer’s full name | Jane Smith | Yes |
| Volunteer’s date of birth | 1985-04-12 | Yes |
| Position applied for | Youth Group Leader (under-18 weekly) | Yes |
| DBS level | Enhanced + Children’s Barred List | Yes |
| Justification for level (regulated activity? supervision level?) | Regulated activity — unsupervised, weekly contact | Yes |
| DBS certificate number | 001234567890 | Yes |
| Date of issue | 2025-03-04 | Yes |
| Date certificate seen and verified by DSL | 2025-03-10 | Yes |
| Verifier name | [DSL name] | Yes |
| Outcome | Clear / Required risk assessment / Withdrawn | Yes |
| Update Service subscribed? | Yes/No | Yes |
| Last Update Service status check date | 2025-09-10 | Yes if subscribed |
| Next renewal/check due | 2026-09-10 | Yes |
| Risk assessment reference (if outcome required one) | RA-2025-003 | Conditional |
What we MUST NOT keep
- A photocopy or scan of the DBS certificate beyond what is reasonable to make a recruitment decision (DBS Code of Practice: maximum 6 months, and only if there is a clear reason)
- Details of any disclosed convictions or other content from a positive certificate in the general DBS log or volunteer file
- The certificate itself — it is the volunteer’s property; we see it, log the metadata, return it (or in many cases never receive a physical copy because it goes only to the applicant)
How positive disclosures are handled
Where the DBS check returns content (a “positive” or “non-clear” disclosure):
- DSL views the certificate (volunteer brings it; or for paper certificates received, on a timed retention)
- DSL completes a Risk Assessment Form (F-17) which records:
- Date of assessment
- Volunteer name and role applied for
- The fact that the disclosure exists (NOT the substantive content of the offences in the general log)
- Categories considered (relevance to role, time elapsed, pattern, mitigating factors, references)
- Decision (proceed / proceed with conditions / decline)
- Reviewer signatures (DSL + one trustee minimum)
- The substantive details of the disclosure are kept in a separate, restricted-access section of the file, with access limited to DSL and named trustee. The general DBS log only references “RA-XXXX-NNN”.
- The certificate or detailed notes from it are destroyed after the retention period appropriate to the role (typically: end of involvement + 6 years for general, longer if there was a concern).
Renewal and ongoing checks
- Update Service subscribers: DSL performs a status check at least every 12 months. Each check logged with date and result.
- Non-subscribers: full re-check at least every 3 years.
- Role change: if a volunteer moves to a role requiring a higher DBS level, a new check is initiated immediately. The old log entry is retained alongside the new.
- Gap in volunteering >6 months: re-check before resuming.
Records on volunteers who left or were declined
- Volunteers who left in good standing: keep the DBS log entry for end of involvement + 6 years, then destroy. This supports any future reference request and any later allegation.
- Volunteers who were declined or removed for safeguarding reasons: retain log entry until the subject reaches age 100, in line with safeguarding allegation retention. Document the factual basis. Never share details outside legitimate safeguarding contexts (police, LADO, future employers via formal reference only).