Disclosure and barring service
The University requires that, before admission, all students on Medicine and PGCE courses undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service records (DBS) check. With effect from Michaelmas 2024 entry, Veterinary students no longer require a Disclosure and Barring Service records (DBS) check.
Agenda Screening Services conduct DBS checks on behalf of the University of Cambridge. The process is completed via their online portal.
If you are a Postgraduate applicant, and you intend to conduct research as part of your course which involves contact with children or adults, you may be required to obtain a check from the Disclosure and Barring Service and/or an overseas check. Your department will determine whether a check is required for your research, and this will become a condition of your offer. Once the Student Registry have checked that payment has been made and the right level of check is being requested applicants will receive an email from Agenda screening services detailing what they need to do to complete the DBS check.
As a Postgraduate Student, admitted via the Postgraduate Admissions Office, you will need a Research Passport if you are proposing to carry out research in the NHS and you have no contractual relationship with the NHS. Please follow the link below for more information regarding this.
- Information for Medics
- Information for PGCE and PPD students
- Research Passports
- DBS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
- DBS Eligibility Checklist
- DBS Self-declaration Form
What is the Disclosure and Barring Service?
A Disclosure is a document containing all information held by police and government departments that concerns you as an individual.
When the DBS receives your application, they will use various means to check details of any criminal record that you may have:
- They will use the Police National Computer to search for details of any convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings that you may have.
- If you will be working with children, they will also check for any details that may be held about you by the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills.
- In the final stages of the process, your local police authority is contacted, to see if local police records contain any additional information that may be relevant.
It is important to note that no Disclosure can be issued without the consent of an individual applicant.
Further information: