Mandatory Fields and Do's & Don'ts

Mandatory Fields

The fields listed below are mandatory and therefore must be completed. Failure to do so will result in the application form being rejected and returned to the applicant.

Section A

1 Title Select only one option
2 Surname Please ensure a name is provided
3 Forename(s) Many people do not use their middle name, however, all forenames must be provided
4 Current address Please ensure a current address is provided
6/7 Town/City/County  At least one of Items 6 and 7 must be completed
8 Postcode The full postcode must be entered
9 At current address since  Month and Year must be entered - MMYYYY (e.g. 061985 for June 1985) If less than five years ago, Section D must be completed
10 Date of birth DDMMYYYY (e.g. 14051971 for 14 May 1971)
11 Current gender  Only one box must be crossed


Section B

13 Position applied for  Job title must be entered here
14 Organisation name  This is the organisation or current employer offering the job/volunteer position


Section C

20 Surname at birth  *Surname at birth must always be provided even if this is the same as the surname recorded in Section A
20-27 Additional names  If any other names are provided then please make sure the date fields (from and to) are completed for each
28 Town/City  This is required, whether the country of birth is in the UK or not


Section D

If current address given at Section A is less than five years ago, section D must be completed. This must cover a continuous five-year period; there must be no gaps in the addresses provided for this period.  Use a continuation sheet if necessary.  Please give full address details, including postcode and the date when the applicant resided at these addresses.

If an applicant has not lived at their current address for more than five years and has provided other addresses you should, where possible, ask for documentation to verify this information.

Section E

Information in Section E is no longer required and should be left blank.

Section F

Information in Section F is no longer required and should be left blank.

Section H

68 Declaration by applicant  A signature must be present


Section X and Y

NOT TO BE COMPLETED BY THE APPLICANT

Top Four Common Errors

No. 1 Five-year address history. Gaps and overlapping in address histories are by far the biggest cause of rejected forms.

No. 2 Middle name missing. When an applicant submits information such as a driving licence number and it indicates that a middle name exists, but it has not been detailed on the application form, we will reject the form and return it to the applicant for clarification.

No. 3 Surname at birth missing. *An applicant crosses MS or MRS, but does not enter surname at birth in Section C20.  The surname at birth must always be provided even if this is the same as the surname recorded in Section A.

* Applicants who were adopted before the age of 10 years do not need to provide their name at birth in Section C of the application form, they should give their adoptive name.  This is because the age of criminal responsibility is deemed to be 10 years, under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, Chapter 12, Section 50.  This means that there is no possibility that an individual could have a criminal record in a name used until the age of 10 years.

No. 4 Missing signature. The application form should always be signed by the applicant at Section H68.

If you make any of these errors, your Disclosure will take longer to process.

Do’s and Don’ts

Each Disclosure application form is scanned by the CRB automatically.  However, many forms cannot be scanned due to some basic errors made when completing the form.  This causes delays in processing applications.  To ensure your applications are processed as smoothly and efficiently as possible, please follow these ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ when completing Disclosure application forms.

Do’s

DO make sure you use BLACK INK THROUGHOUT and write clearly in BLOCK CAPITALS ONLY.

DO place only one letter or number in each box.

DO cross out any errors on the form and amend the correction to the right of the error.  If there is no space to write next to a particular piece of information, please write as close to the text as possible.  

DO ensure that both the form reference number and the applicant’s name are noted on continuation sheets.

DO use the checklist above when checking the application form to ensure all mandatory fields are complete.
DO ensure signatures keep within the space provided in the box.
 

Don’ts


DON’T use staples to attach any cheques, continuation sheets or additional information.

DON’T place any stickers or stamps on the form i.e. featuring addresses or dates.
 
DON’T use correction fluid on the form.  To correct a mistake, please follow the guidance above.

DON’T allow text to cross the edges of the boxes on the application form.
 
DON’T put a line through a section of the form or state a field is ‘not applicable’, if it is not relevant to the application then please leave it blank.