Can old cautions appear on an enhanced DBS check?

An enhanced DBS certificate may show an old caution in two different ways: it may be disclosed under the standard filtering rules, or the police may include relevant information through the enhanced-check process. Whether it appears depends on the offence, your age when you received the caution, how much time has passed and whether the information is considered relevant to the role.

How caution filtering works

Some cautions are protected from automatic disclosure once the applicable time period has passed. In general, a caution received when you were aged 18 or over is filtered after six years, while a caution received when you were under 18 is filtered after two years. These time periods apply only where the caution relates to an offence that is eligible for filtering.

Cautions for certain specified offences are not filtered, regardless of their age. These include offences involving serious violence, sexual offending and other offences regarded as particularly relevant to safeguarding. The rules can be technical, so the name or description of the offence matters rather than simply the fact that it was recorded as a caution.

What makes an enhanced check different?

An enhanced DBS check includes the information available on a standard check and can also include relevant information held by local police. A chief officer may disclose non-conviction information where it is reasonably considered relevant to the position and ought to be disclosed. This means that filtering does not guarantee that every reference to an incident will be absent from an enhanced certificate.

For example, an old caution may have passed the ordinary filtering period but still be considered for inclusion if the police believe the circumstances have a clear safeguarding relevance. This is not automatic. The information should be assessed for relevance and proportionality before it is disclosed, and you may have a right to challenge information that you believe is inaccurate, irrelevant or disproportionate.

How this affects a fostering application

A DBS certificate is an important part of fostering checks, but it is not the only source of information used in the assessment. The fostering service will consider the details you provide, the DBS result and the wider circumstances of the application. Checks may also be required for other adults in the household, because the assessment focuses on everyone who could have contact with a child in the foster home.

You should disclose an old caution if the application form or fostering service asks about cautions, warnings, reprimands, arrests, charges or other police involvement. Do not assume that a caution is irrelevant simply because it is spent or may have been filtered. A caution that does not appear on the certificate may still need to be mentioned when the application specifically asks for it.

Providing an explanation is usually more helpful than giving only the offence title. Relevant information may include:

• your age at the time;
• the date and nature of the incident;
• the circumstances surrounding it;
• whether anyone was harmed or placed at risk;
• any action taken afterwards; and
• what has changed since the incident.

The presence of an old caution does not, by itself, determine the outcome of a fostering application. The assessment considers the nature and seriousness of the behaviour, its relevance to caring for children, whether there is a pattern of concerns, the time that has passed and the evidence of responsible behaviour since then. Safeguarding considerations remain central, particularly where the caution relates to violence, abuse, sexual behaviour, offences against children or other conduct that could affect a child’s safety.

What to do if you are unsure

Ask the fostering service how the question on its application form should be answered, and provide accurate information rather than relying on what you expect the DBS certificate to show. The service can explain which details are needed and how the caution will be considered. If an enhanced certificate includes information you believe is wrong or should not have been disclosed, you can use the DBS dispute process. You should still discuss the matter with the fostering service so that the assessment is based on the complete and correct context.