Do Motoring Offenses Show Up On A DBS Check?
When applying for a new job, it’s likely that the hiring company requests that you complete a DBS check. While this is common across a range of industries now, including childcare and the medical sector, it still may come as a surprise. As a DBS check is a record of your criminal history, you may ask do motoring offenses show up on a DBS check? Today, we will outline all the information you need to know about this.
Why Might it Matter if Motoring Offenses Showed on a DBS Check?
While driving is common for most people, it is often only to get to and from work. Most people work in a main office or even from home. However, for those of you that operate a vehicle daily, whether it is a bus, taxi, lorry, or van, you may worry about whether any type of motoring offense shows up on a DBS check.
Does DBS Check Motoring Offences?
Yes and no. There are levels to motoring offenses, with some of them being Fixed Penalty Driving Offenses, while others are more serious offenses.
Fixed Penalty Offenses include things like speeding or driving through bus lanes. Typically, these result in a fine, caution, points on your driving license or a mandatory responsible driving course. However, these are not criminal offenses, and therefore they will not appear on a DBS check.
Despite this, if your career involves driving for a living, whether you drive a taxi or need to travel across the country, it is likely that your company will have a contract policy that demands you inform them of any existing points on your license before they hire you, as well as inform them about any points or driving offenses you commit while under contract.
Conversely, other offenses can lead to a criminal conviction. In these instances, while the driving offense may not be considered a criminal offense, if the driving offense crosses the line into criminality.
This can include offenses such as drunk driving, driving without proper insurance, or consistent disregard for speed limits. It is likely that these offenses will appear on a DBS check when you apply for one, or your employer applies for one on your behalf.
While it can be complicated to draw an official line between what and what is not a criminal offense when it comes to driving offenses, it is best to think about whether the offense could result in imprisonment, or at the very least community service, but even this is not too consistent.
If it is a recordable offense, that is something the police will need to make a note and record of, then you can assume that will appear on a DBS check.
However, because of the filtering system used by the DBS, most offenses will clear after a set period, which depending on your age at the timer of the offense is anything up to 11 years. Despite this, if they consider your motoring offense too severe, it will not be stricken from the record.
A Policy of Honesty
It can be difficult to decide whether it is worth telling your prospective employer about existing driving cautions and notices, including points or previous speeding offenses. They may ask about such information anyway, whereas any other information will appear on a DBS check.
Driving Forward
So regular motoring offenses will not show up on DBS checks. It is only when these offenses stray into more serious territory that they will show up on a DBS check. Regardless of the role you have applied for, this could affect your chances of being hired.
If you need more information for everything about DBS checks, make sure to browse The Check People Blog to answer any additional questions you might have.
Sources:
- Will my conviction for a motoring offence show up on a criminal record check? – Geoffrey Miller Solicitors