How to complete the online DBS application

To do this, click the link provided in the DBS system email regarding your application, where it says "Access your online application at..."

• If you are having your ID documents verified at a participating Post Office or by an appropriate professional local to you (if you live outside mainland UK & Northern Ireland), this email will say ‘University of Cumbria DBS Application: Post Office ID Check’ or ‘University of Cumbria DBS Application: Non-UK ID Check’ in the subject line.
• If you had your ID documents verified by the University of Cumbria, this email will say ‘University of Cumbria DBS Application-Part 2’ in the subject line.

Haven’t received the email with the log-in instructions?

• If you are having your ID verified at the Post Office or by a local professional, you should receive the log-in email at the point we upload your student record to the DBS system.
• If you are having your ID verified by the University of Cumbria, this email can only be sent after you have provided sufficient acceptable identity documents, so you must follow-up any queries on this (e.g. missing documents) quickly.
• Please check your spam/junk folder: the email is automated and comes from an address ending ‘@cumbria.disclosures.co.uk’. If you still can’t find the email please contact us.

On first accessing your account, you will:

• Log-in using your email address and date of birth.

If, on clicking the 'https://cumbria....' hyperlink in your DBS login email, you see a log-in screen asking for your ‘username’ and ‘password’ instead of ‘email address’ and ‘date of birth’, something is not working correctly with the hyperlink, or you have copied and pasted the 'https://cumbria....' address instead of clicking on it as a hyperlink. Please do not use a mobile phone as this is also likely to affect the behaviour of the application form.

• You will then be asked to create a password: please remember this as you will need it if you need to access your account again.

The ‘https://…’ hyperlink you use to access and activate your account for the first time is single-use only and will expire after first use, even if you do not complete and submit your application all at once.

Any future logins: -

If you needed to log back in on a later occasion, you would then need your username (shown in your log-in email) and the password that you created for yourself on first activating your account. For this reason, please retain your log-in email and do not delete it. You do not need to enter your username anywhere on first log-in (when you initially activate your account).

Once logged-in, select the green 'Complete application now' button.

If you are eligible for a Digital ID check a QR code will be displayed, this should be scanned using the camera on your mobile phone. Follow the instructions to download the Atlantic Data Digital ID App from your App Store/Google Play Store.

The order of actions to complete the ID check are:

1. You will follow a registration process in the app i.e. read through the consent statement, confirm your mobile phone number, create an App passcode and take a photo of yourself as part of a liveness check.
2. Scan your valid passport. Make sure all four corners of the identity document are in frame and wait for this to turn green.
3. Confirm the details of your identity documents displayed on-screen.
4. You will then be required to take a photo of yourself as part of a liveness check to confirm it’s you completing the Digital ID check.
5. Type in your UK Post Code to find your current UK address and agree to the declaration.
6. The outcome of your Digital ID will be displayed within the App and sent to you via text message, you will also receive an email with instructions on what you should do next.
7. After receiving this, log back in to our disclosure application website and you will be able to use your Digital ID if all checks have been successful. If this is not possible, you can proceed to an alternative online DBS application instead i.e., using a Post Office branch to confirm your identity documents.
8. If you are able to use your Digital ID you can scan the new QR code on-screen using your camera on your mobile phone and share your Digital ID with us.
9. Within the disclosure application website, you will be asked to confirm the name from your Digital ID and consent to your Right to Work check being shared with us.

Further information and support are available via the DBS application system when you log in. This will be displayed within your disclosure application website portal, to view the step-by-step guide click on ‘Your Account’ button which displays your name on the right-hand side and then select ‘Information’. The guide can be found under ‘Account Information’.

Once you have completed your Digital ID check, you will need to complete the remainder of the online DBS application form.

Please Note: If you have failed the Digital DBS & Right to Work ID check you will be made aware of this in the DBS application.  We will need to carry out a manual Right to Work check before we can submit your DBS application.  Please contact the DBS Team to complete your Right to Work check.

Please continue with your DBS application form and follow the instructions below for completing a Post Office ID check or Overseas Professional Verifier ID Check.

Answer the question about your nationality: whether you are a national of the UK or a national of an EU/EEA or Non-EEA Country. Please note this must match what is stated on your passport; Biometric Residence Permit or other approved, UK Home Office-issued document. If your country of nationality is not in the UK, you must answer 'Other' to this question. If you are unsure what to answer here, please email the DBS Team for advice before going any further. If you are awaiting a response, please log out of your application using the log-out button at the top right of the screen, and go back to it once we have replied to you.

If you select 'Other' in answer to the first question, you will then be presented with a second question, regarding whether the check is for a paid role, an unpaid role, or for the purposes of study. You must answer 'Paid/Study'. Then click Proceed.

Read the information in the ‘Primary Documents’ screen: you must be able to provide one of the documents listed on this screen to proceed. If you are unable to do this please contact the DBS Team.

• Select the document you will be using as your ‘Primary’ ID document: please see EU/EEA/Non-EEA including Swiss Nationals: Accepted ID Documents for further details. Please read the explanatory information for each document carefully. Click Proceed. 
• Select the two documents you wish to use as your ‘Supporting documents’. It doesn’t matter which of the groups your other two documents fall within, as long as at least one of them shows proof of your current address (these documents are indicated by an asterisk on screen).
• Birth certificates (only UK ones acceptable): you will not be able to use your birth certificate as an ID document if you do not have a British birth certificate.
• Driving licences: Only UK photo card licences are classed as 'Group 1' documents. If you have an old-style paper UK or an EU/EEA/Non-EEA photocard licence, you will need to select the correct one of the two driving licence options within the 'Group 2a' section.

Please note that a paper driving licence is not the paper counterpart (accompanying part) of a photo card licence: UK counterpart licences were abolished in June 2015. If you have a UK paper counterpart then you must also have a photo card licence, so you should select the photo card option. If you have lost your photo card licence you cannot use this as an ID document; the paper counterpart is not acceptable.

• The system will tell you when you have selected sufficient documents. Click Proceed.

You will see a question which asks you to confirm you are a UK National or a National of another country.  Select the UK National Option and then click proceed.  You will then be asked to select your 3 original ID documents.  Make sure you have these documents to hand, as you will need to input their details into the DBS application form in the next steps.

Regardless of your nationality, if you have been in touch with us and had your identity verified by the University of Cumbria, you will be asked to answer two security questions at the beginning of your application. These relate to two of the three ID documents you provided and are generated by the system.

• If you used your UK driving licence as a document, you will probably be asked to enter the last four characters from your licence number: these are the last four as on your photo card, including the two 'trailing' numbers that appear after the space. So you should enter the four characters after the '9' (two letters and two numbers), but do not type the actual space.
• If you used your UK birth certificate as a document, you will probably be asked to enter the 'day of the British birth certificate issue date': this means the date of the month in which the birth certificate was issued, so you need to enter two digits only (e.g. 4th July - enter 04). The system does not require the full date (date/month/year) to be entered, and will not accept the full date. Please note that the date of issue of the birth certificate may not be the same as the date your birth was registered: we are required to submit the date of issue, so it is this date that you need to look at when entering the date of the month. This is usually shown next to the Registrar's signature.

You have to give your consent to undergo a DBS check. Tick the box provided (‘I consent’).

Work through the ‘Applicant Details’ screen answering the questions where indicated. Mandatory fields are indicated by an asterisk:-

• Enter your middle name if you have one (if the University of Cumbria has checked your ID your middle name should already be entered). If this has not been done, you should enter this in the 'Middle Name' field.
• Additional details: ‘Job role’ is your course of study with us and tells the DBS why you need a DBS check. Click the drop-down arrow and then click on the non-bold type to drop in the name of the role (there will only be one option). If your ID has been entered by the University of Cumbria this section will have been completed for you.
• You must declare any previous or other forenames or surnames used by answering 'Yes' to the relevant question: this could be because you have changed your forename or surname (for instance, due to marriage or via a Change of Name Deed), or if you have an alternative variant of your forename by which you are also known: -

Answer 'Yes' to the relevant question(s) 'Have you ever used another forename' or 'Have you ever used another surname'?

You should see a pop-up window with your current forename/surname pre-entered;

You need to work backwards in sequence from the current month and year to the month and year of your birth;

Type your most recent other forenames/surname into the box provided, then select the relevant month and year when you started using this name from the two drop-down menus. You may have to select the year first to allow the menu to display the full list of months. Click away from the month/year menus once you have selected the correct date, then click 'Add';

If you have earlier forename(s)/surname(s) to add, do these in the same way as the above, clicking the 'Add' button each time to add this name to your name history;

The system will tell you when you have completed your name history (when you have gone back as far as birth).

• You also need to declare any additional middle forenames. If you have an additional middle forename, you will need to add this by answering 'Yes' to the question 'Do you have any other middle names?', and follow the below: -

You should see a pop-up window with your first middle name pre-entered;

Type your additional middle name into the box provided and click 'Add';

You can add one more additional middle name if you have one. The DBS allows submission of up to three middle names: two in this section plus the one already entered in the main name/date of birth section above;

Click 'Save All Names' and you should be returned to the previous 'Applicant Details' screen.

• Birth Details: type the first few letters of your town or district of birth and the system will look for any matches in its database (if in the UK). If the system finds a match, the appropriate county will then be populated for you. If no match is found, you should enter your place of birth by typing it in manually.

If you have a UK National Insurance Number you should enter this where indicated: do not type any spaces within the number. Do not enter Irish Republic or any other country's equivalent of a National Insurance number - leave this field blank.

If you have completed a Digital ID Check, your current UK Address will have been confirmed and this section will be pre-filled.  You will need to confirm your the date on which you moved into your current address.

If you have been unable to do a Digital ID check and you live in the UK, please enter your postcode, then use the 'Search' button to find your whole address. This saves you having to type it in manually and ensures the address will be in the Royal Mail approved format. This can save time later in dealing with queries. You need to include the space in the middle of a UK-format postcode (e.g. LA1 3JD not LA13JD).  You will need to confirm your the date on which you moved into your current address.

If you do not live in the UK you can leave the postcode field blank and enter your address manually in the fields indicated.

After you have entered the length of time at your current address, you must add any past or term-time addresses within the last 5 years. You can add previous addresses by clicking on the link ‘If this is less than five years Click Here’.

Term-time or other temporary addresses within the last 5 years

You should enter the date in the ‘You have lived at this address since’ field for your current address as the date since when you have physically been living at your current address (rather than the date since when you consider this to have been your permanent address) because this date is what dictates whether the system is expecting you to need to add additional addresses.

If you enter that you have lived at your home address since birth, the system would take this (correctly) as covering the full 5-year period required, so would not allow additional addresses to be entered. You need to amend the date you enter here to allow the entering of other addresses.

For example:-

• You have lived at your parental address since birth, but in that time have been a student for 3 years, completing your course in July 2016, when you moved back to your parental address.
• Enter the date since when you have lived at your current (parental) address as July 2016.
• Click on the link ‘If this is less than 5 years Click Here’.
• Enter your student addresses one by one, working backwards in time from July 2016 (so most recent previous address first), until you have covered the full 5-year period (to the corresponding month 5 years ago).
• The last address you enter will then be your permanent address, from birth until the date when you moved to your first student address.

The system will indicate when your address history is complete.

Answer the question about any criminal record which would not be ‘filtered’. For more information click on the link given on screen or visit our self-disclosure of criminal record page.

Enter the details requested from the ID documents you selected. These will vary according to the type of document: for example, bank statements or government letters will ask for the issue date of the document.

UK and EU/EEA/Non-EEA Driving Licences: 'Valid From' date. IMPORTANT - this is the most common mistake applicants make

If you have selected a UK or an EU/EEA/Non-EEA driving licence as a document, you will be asked for the 'valid from' date: this is the date on the back of the photo card (not the front), shown next to the symbol of the car, in column 10. This is the date that you first got a driving licence, so refers to the date of validity of your licence as a whole. The 'issue date' on the front refers to the date that your current photo card was issued, and so will change over time if you change your address or name and have to update your photo card, or when the photo card is due for renewal after ten years. You must enter the 'valid from' date on the back of the photo card and not the 'issue date' on the front.

UK Birth Certificates: Issue date (NB: you can not use a birth certificate from any country other than the UK)

If you have selected a UK birth certificate as a document, you will be asked for the date of issue of the birth certificate: this is the date that the birth certificate was issued by the Registrar, which will not necesarily be the same as the date that your parent(s) registered your birth (the date of registration). The date of issue is usually shown towards the bottom of the birth certificate next to the Registrar's name/signature. The date of registration is shown within the 'grid' of data showing your personal details, and is headed 'Date of registration'. If your birth certificate is the one originally issued at the time of your birth, the two dates may well be the same but, if your birth certificate has been lost and you have had to get a later re-issue, the two dates will be different and could be years apart. It is always the date of issue that you must enter.

If you make a mistake in this section, the Post Office or your ID verifier will not be able to complete your ID check and you would have to contact us to re-set your application so that you can re-submit it.

If you are unsure of what to enter, please contact the DBS Team for advice. If you are awaiting a response, please log out of your application using the log-out button at the top right of the screen, and go back to it once we have replied to you.

Please check the information in the confirmation screen carefully. Mistakes cannot be rectified by you or us after this point and you would have to contact us to re-set your DBS record. You would then have to re-submit your application from the beginning.

You can change anything that is incorrect if needed, then select the ‘I confirm the following’ button in the Application Declaration section and proceed once you are satisfied that your data is correct.

Please pay by debit/credit card online at the time of submitting your application.

If it is impossible for you to pay by card online at this stage, please select the lower option of ‘Alternative Payment’, then click ‘Proceed' on the next screen. This allows the application to submit and you can access your Post Office 'Referral Letter' or Identity Verification Form, for those applicants with either the Post Office or non-UK ID check to complete.

Please contact the DBS Team for an alternative method of payment.  Please Note that we cannot submit the DBS application to the DBS for processing without receipt of payment. 

If you exit the application without paying online or selecting the ‘Alternative Payment’ option, your application does not submit fully and is left in a ‘holding state’ and you will not be able to access the Post Office 'Referral Letter' or Identity Verification Form that you need in order to complete the next step of the process - the ID check. 

You will need to log back in to your application to either pay online or select the ‘Alternative Payment’ option.  To do this you will need the username shown in your DBS log-in email and the password you created. 

Once you have logged in and either paid or selected the ‘Alternative Payment’ option, you can submit the application fully and then access the Post Office 'Referral Letter' or Identity Verification Form.   

If you cannot log in to your application, please contact the DBS Team for an alternative method of payment.

Problems with submission may be connected to some corruption in your Internet browser: you could try clearing your cache, or try using an alternative browser e.g. Mozilla Firefox. This can be downloaded free and used as a substitute for another browser.

please contact the DBS Team if you are unable to submit the DBS application form.

You should print your referral letter at this point. This is what you will need to take either to the Post Office or to your local professional verifier, according to your particular application.

If you forget to print your referral letter at the stage where you submit your application, you can log back in to your DBS record to do so: you will need the username shown in your log-in email and the password that you created on first activating your account.

If you cannot log in to your application, please contact the DBS Team for an alternative method of payment.

If you exit the online application before you have fully submitted your form, you can log back in on another occasion using the username shown in your log-in email and the password that you created on first log-in.

You should go to the website by copying and pasting the 'https://cumbria...' web address from your system log-in email. Please note that this works as a hyperlink only on first accessing and activating your account: once it is used, you will need to log back in by navigating to the webpage and using your username and password to log in.