A regulated home care agency in England must check who a carer is, confirm their background and collect references before that person works with you or your relative. You can ask to see the evidence, and you can ask the agency to show you how it checked. This guide explains which checks apply, how a DBS certificate number is verified, and what to do if something cannot be confirmed.
In England, home care agencies are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The rules on recruitment sit in Regulation 19 on fit and proper persons. It requires robust recruitment procedures and appropriate checks. Staff must be of good character and have the qualifications, competence, skills and experience for the work. The agency must confirm the Schedule 3 information before employment.
That Schedule 3 list is specific. Under the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations 2002, an agency must hold details for each care worker, including:
The same framework also expects a statement from the worker about their physical and mental health, and a statement from the provider or manager that the worker is fit for the work.
These rules apply in England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regulators and rules, so check the position there if you live outside England.
An ID check is more than a glance at a passport. The agency should have a photo ID on file that matches the person who turns up at your door. For a DBS application, the identity of the applicant is verified too: registered bodies must validate name, date of birth and address using the DBS three-route identity process.
You can ask simple questions:
We send details of who is coming ahead of a visit where we can, so a family is never surprised by a stranger at the door. Ask any agency you are considering to do the same.
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks criminal records. For adult social care, GOV.UK guidance says care workers who provide specified personal care to adults can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check with an Adults’ Barred List check, irrespective of the setting. That includes a person’s own home.
A basic check is not the same thing. If an agency tells you carers are “DBS checked”, ask which level. For personal care, you are looking for an Enhanced check that includes the Adults’ Barred List. Our own explainer, what a DBS check is, goes through the levels, and why DBS checked carers matter covers the reasons for families.
A certificate is a record at the date it was issued. It does not guarantee anything about the future. That is why the Update Service exists, and why an agency should look at the certificate’s current status and not rely on a photocopy from years ago.
The certificate number alone does not prove anything. A number on a page can be copied. Verification means checking it against the DBS record.
The DBS Update Service employer guide sets out how this works:
The status check is free and instant for eligible Standard and Enhanced certificates.
The guide’s step on seeing the original certificate matters. A person may show their own certificate to anyone, so you can ask a carer to show you theirs. For an Update Service check, you need the carer’s consent and must have seen the original certificate, or had a recruiting organisation confirm it is genuine. If you employ a carer directly, you take on the employer’s role, so take that duty seriously. If you use an agency, the agency is the employer and carries out the check. Your job is to ask it to show you how it did so.
Your reasonable requests are:
If you want to read the certificate yourself, ask the carer. Do not send a copy of anyone’s certificate on by email, and do not store personal details you do not need.
Two written references are a legal minimum for the agency’s records. The sector’s workforce body, Skills for Care, advises in its pre-employment checks guidance that employers should obtain and verify at least two references, review employment history including gaps, and clarify any gaps or inconsistencies. It also recommends recording the decision, including how the information was considered and how concerns were managed.
When you speak to an agency, these questions get useful answers:
A vague reply such as “we always do the checks” is not an answer. A clear one names what was checked and where the record is kept.
Regulation 19 asks for competence, skills and experience, not only a clean record. Ask what training the carer has, whether it matches your relative’s needs (dementia, mobility, medication) and what happens when a carer is new to a condition. Our guide to why qualified carers matter explains what to look for.
You can also look up the agency itself. Its CQC registration and rating are public, and our pages on how CQC ratings work and the CQC’s role in home care show you how to read them. A rating is about the whole service, so it sits alongside your own questions rather than replacing them.
Sometimes an agency hesitates, or a carer’s paperwork is incomplete. Here is a practical order of steps.
If you use direct payments and employ a carer yourself, you are the employer, and these checks fall to you. Consider using an agency or a payroll and recruitment service so that responsibility is shared with a regulated provider.
We have supplied home care in London for over 30 years, and the same thing comes up in nearly every first conversation: “How do I know I can trust the person coming into my mother’s home?”
Our answer is that you should not have to take our word for it. We are regulated by the CQC, and our carers are qualified and DBS checked. We are happy for families to ask how we do it, and we think any agency should welcome those questions.
Checks matter most when they are joined to good matching. A carer who has been properly checked, understands your relative’s needs and arrives at the agreed time is what makes care feel safe. That is why we personalise care around the person, from a short call-in visit to round-the-clock live-in support.
If you are comparing agencies, ask each of them the same list of questions and compare the answers. Clear, specific replies are a good sign.
Dan
Kells offers call-in visits, live-in care, dementia care, respite cover and support for adults and children with disabilities or mental health needs across London. Carers are qualified and DBS checked, and we are CQC regulated. You can see the full list of home care services or get in touch through our website to talk through your situation and ask us about our checks.
Only in the right circumstances. The Update Service check needs the carer’s consent and the certificate number, current surname and date of birth. The employer must also have seen the original certificate or had a recruiting organisation confirm it is genuine. If you use an agency, ask it to confirm it has done this.
For personal care of adults, carers can be asked to apply for an Enhanced DBS check with an Adults’ Barred List check. Ask the agency to confirm the level, because a basic check is not the same.
At least two written references are part of the information an agency must hold under the Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations 2002. Skills for Care advises verifying them and looking into any gaps in employment history.
No. A certificate shows the record at the date of issue. The Update Service lets an employer see whether it is still current or whether new information means a new check is required. Ask when the agency last ran that status check.
It is good practice to ask for it. Ask the agency how your carer will identify themselves at the door, and ask for the name and a photo in advance if you can.
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