Guidance for DBS Certificates not issued by Basketball England

The Safeguarding Team currently accepts DBS checks issued by other employers for licensing, if they are the correct level for your role in basketball. Members with DBS certificates issued by other employers should present their certificates to a club/league representative. The club/league representative will be required to check the certificate’s authenticity and send the required information to the Safeguarding team for licensing. The club/league representative must be a Welfare Officer or a Club/League administrator who holds a current DBS certificate (issued in the last 3 years). 

Instructions for club/league representatives

• DBS certificates must be presented in person by the member
• To check the authenticity of a certificate, you must look for the following:

A DBS certificate contains the DBS logo on the front face and contains a number of security features which can be used to verify whether it has been counterfeited or altered. 

The areas to be aware of and examined are as follows: 

• An original DBS certificate has printing on both sides; the paper size is 209mm width x 404mm length which is larger than A4 
• The personal information print colour on the certificate is purple 
• A ‘crown seal’ watermark repeated down the right-hand side of the certificate is visible both on the surface and when holding the certificate up to the light 
• A background design with the word ‘Disclosure’ appears in a wave-like pattern across both sides of the document – on the front of the certificate this pattern is green and on the rear of the document this is purple 

If you are unsure whether a DBS certificate is genuine, or you think that it may have been altered, you should contact the DBS immediately at [email protected]. 

• Make sure that the type and level of the check is adequate for the role. The level will be stated at the top of the certificate. You will be able to check the type/workforce (children or adults) by looking at the ‘Position Applied for’ section
• Coaches; Enhanced with Barred List Check for the Children’s workforce 
• Bench Personnel; Enhanced with Barred List Check for the Children’s workforce 
• All Officials; Enhanced with Barred List Check for the Children’s workforce 
• Welfare Officers; Enhanced with Barred List Check for the Children’s workforce 
• Volunteers with Children; Enhanced with Barred List Check for the Children’s workforce 
• Verifiers; Enhanced with Barred List Check for the Children’s workforce 

You must advise the member to contact the Safeguarding Team if there is content on their DBS. By ‘content’, we mean; 

• Cautions 
• Convictions 
• Reprimands and warnings (now replaced by youth cautions) 
• Previously stepped-down cautions or convictions 
• Police intelligence reports 
• Inclusion on the Children’s and/or Barring List (if specified on the application). 

The member will be asked to send in their original certificate, by ‘signed for’ delivery, so that a Risk Assessment can be completed for their role, if applicable. If the member works or volunteers for your organisation, and it is necessary to put conditions in place or reject a license application, you will be informed of the outcome of the licensing decision.  

If a member’s certificate has no content, please email the following to [email protected] 

• Full name of applicant 
• Basketball England membership number (if known) 
• Certificate Number – This is a 10 digit number on the top-right of the certificate 
• Date of Issue - A certificate must have been issued within the last 3 years to be acceptable for licensing. 
• The ‘Role’ as stated on the certificate 
• Confirmation that the DBS is of the correct level i.e. Enhanced with barred list check where applicable 
• Confirmation that the certificate contains no content. 

Note for club/league representatives

• You must not make a copy of the DBS certificate 
• If the member is working or volunteering for your organisation, you are permitted to keep the a record of the applicant’s name, the certificate number, the date of issue, the type of certificate requested, the position for which the certificate was requested and the details of any recruitment decision taken
• Certificate information should be kept securely, in lockable, non-portable, storage containers with access strictly controlled and limited to those who are entitled to see it as part of their duties
• You must ensure that the information is treated confidentially in accordance with your organisation’s Privacy Notice and DBS Policy