The Disclosure service offers organisations a means to check the background of job applicants to ensure that they do not have a history that would make them unsuitable for posts they are trying to fill. Disclosures will provide details of a person’s criminal record including convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings held on the Police National Computer (PNC). If the position involves working with children, Disclosures will also contain details from lists held by the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) of those considered unsuitable for this type of work. Depending upon the level of Disclosure, it might also contain information held by local police forces.

A Basic Disclosure is available to any person for any purpose. There does not have to be a job role in order to obtain a basic check and it can be requested by an individual rather than an employer. Employers who wish to check their staff at a Basic level may do so and receive the disclosure information with the applicants consent.

There are currently three levels of Disclosure available,