Introducing digital identity to dbs & right to work checks

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Luke Shipley
April 11, 2022
Updated on:

In January the UK government announced new legislation approving the use of digital identity-checking solutions for all levels of DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service), Right to rent, and  schemes.

This means that digital identity solutions can be used to verify applicants' identities in the DBS checking process. Digital identity solutions have to be approved by the government's trust framework. This is a big step forward in modernising DBS checks for good.

What will the process look like?

If you request a DBS check on Zinc and the applicant is located in England or Wales, we will conduct an  and an  with your candidate. If you have a form of identity check switched on such as an ID verify or Right to work check, this will be used as the identity verification check. If one of these has not been requested, we will automatically add these to the package for you. The same applies for Address verification which we’ll add on for you if it’s not already been selected on the package.

When will this be in place?

The policy came into place on April 6th 2022. This process will be live on Zinc by May 2022.

What’s the cost?

If you have these checks on your package already: Identity and Address, there will be no difference in cost. If these checks are added to your package, there’s an extra cost associated with each check. Please contact your account manager to confirm the cost on your account.

Is Zinc approved to conduct digital identity checks?

Zinc is partnered with Onfido to support Digital identity checks. Onfido is in the approval process for the Trust Framework and the Government advises this process.

UK Government & Digital identity:

We’re happy to see the UK government backing digital identity and importantly the reuse of digital identities. Zinc's mission is to change the way that people prove their work identity. We have been facilitating the reuse of work and education history data for some time. This legislation from the UK government that promotes reusing identity documents for work is a signal that reuse of identity proofs is a positive change. Reusable digital identities will undoubtedly transform to the world of checking, making it faster, easier, and more secure for applicants. Hence this is something we’ll support on Zinc. If your candidate has been checked by Zinc before, they can skip the identity verification step for a DBS check, saving you money and the applicant time.

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