With effect from 1st April 2023, we will be implementing a price increase on the administration fees for DBS checks.
The last time ARC did this was in 2011 when the administration fees for paper-based checks were increased to £13.50 and £15.00 per check for members and non-members respectively.
In 2015, our administration fees were reduced to the current levels which are £10.00 and £12.00 for ARC England members and non-members respectively when we switched from paper to an online process, which means that our current prices have remained unchanged for 8 years.
We are only increasing our prices now because one of the organisations we work with have increased their costs to us, and the increases we are implementing in April 2023 have been calculated to only cover these additional costs and not to generate any additional income for ARC England.
The new administration fee for DBS checks countersigned from 1st April 2023 will be £11.00 for ARC members (a £1 per check increase) and £13.50 for non-members (a £1.50 per check increase).
This means that an Enhanced DBS check will cost:
- ARC England Members:  £49 (DBS fee £38 + ARC administration fee £11)
- Non-members: £51.50 (DBS fee £38 + ARC administration fee £13.50)
The fee for DBS Adult First checks remain the same: £10 (DBS fee £6 + ARC administration fee £4)
The fee for External ID validation checks remain the same: £10
We understand that there are significant financial pressures in services at this time and that these increases will be unwelcome news for providers.
However, we do need to pass on the additional costs we will be meeting from April 2023 if we are to continue to provide you with the high-quality service you have been used to receiving and to operate our disclosure checks in a financially sustainable way.
Should you wish to talk to us about the cost of becoming an ARC member and about the wide range of benefits of membership, please contact Liz Collins at [email protected]