How the list is ordered

Who is listed

A row exists because the organisation is on the GOV.UK Responsible Organisations list updated on 4 November 2026. That page names 75 organisations. We do not add a firm because it advertises DBS checks, and we do not drop a firm because its prices are high or missing.

Own-staff Registered Bodies are out of scope. We do not claim to list every umbrella body in the Home Office directory. A Home Office badge means we opened that organisation’s directory page. A “says it is an umbrella body” badge means the words are on the firm’s site and we have not matched a directory page.

What verified means

A price is verified when the page we opened on 2026-11-11 states a total, states whether VAT is included, uses the DBS fees in force since 5 October 2026, and the parts add up. The source URL and the date sit on the profile. If the total is calculated from a stated admin fee and a stated 20% VAT rate, the row says “calculated”.

The price sort ignores a figure when the page contradicts itself, when the total still uses the old £21.50 or £49.50 DBS fee, when VAT is not stated, or when the only number is a range or a “from £X plus VAT” without a gross total. Those figures are still shown. They cannot come first.

Nothing is estimated. A missing price, rating or review count stays empty and reads “Not yet verified”. Trustpilot text is not copied. Where we link to Trustpilot, the score is not shown, because we did not capture the live page.

Pros and cons

Each bullet is a sentence we can point at a URL for. Speed claims stay in quotes as the provider’s claim, next to the official timing caveat. We do not turn a review theme into a pro or a con.

Featured placements and referrals

The sponsored slot on the directory is empty. If a placement is sold later, it stays in that slot, it is labelled Sponsored, and it does not move the price table. A referral link would be labelled too. None are live. Claiming a listing, when that form works, will not buy a better sort position.

Clear Check Ltd is owned by Moite Ltd, which also operates CompareDBS. It is not featured, not pinned, and not the comparison baseline. See the ownership page.

What we do not say

There is no “best DBS check company” heading. The word cheapest, on the prices page, means the lowest verified total, and for an individual’s basic check it means the official £20 route first.