CRB Check & DBS certificate

Once the check is completed, DBS will send a certificate listing the results to the applicant. The employer will have to ask the applicant to see the certificate. All applicants will receive  certificate which is posted directly from the DBS to their home address.

Security features

Certificates have security features to prove they’re genuine, including:

• a ‘crown seal’ watermark repeated down the right side, visible both on the surface and when held up to the light
• a background design featuring the word ‘Disclosure’, which appears in a wave-like pattern across both sides of a certificate; the pattern’s colour alternates between blue and green on the reverse
• ink and paper that change colour when wet

The security features for a CRB certificate issued before 1 December 2012 are the same as for the DBS certificate.

You cannot obtain a replacement copy of the certificate so ensure it is stored securely.