The short answer
- Four checks, each answering a different questionAn identity check confirms who they are, a right to work check confirms they can legally work here, an enhanced DBS check looks at their criminal record, and an interview lets you see how they come across. None of the four covers what the others do.
- A DBS certificate only covers the day it was issuedIt shows what was on file the day it was issued. Ask whether the carer is on the DBS Update Service, so their status can be checked again at any time rather than trusted from a piece of paper.
- Who has to check depends on how you arrange careBook a self-employed carer through PrimeCarers and the four checks are done before their profile appears. Employ someone directly yourself and several of them become your own legal duty.
- Training, references and how they work are still for you to ask aboutNo background check confirms a qualification or what a previous client thought. Read the references on a profile, ask about training, and meet the carer before you decide.
PrimeCarers is an introductory service, not a care agency and not registered with the CQC. Carers are self-employed and checked before their profile appears; this page explains exactly what that checking does and does not cover.
The four checks
The four checks, and what each one covers
Four separate checks sit behind a word like 'vetted', and each one answers a different question. Knowing what each does, and does not, tell you is more useful than trusting the word on its own.
Identity check
Government-issued photo ID
What it confirms
The person is who their documents say they are, checked against a passport or driving licence photo.
What it does not tell you
Nothing about their character, reliability or ability to do the job. It only rules out someone using a false identity.
Right to work check
A legal duty on every employer
What it confirms
They are legally allowed to work in the UK, confirmed with a Home Office share code, or an original passport for British and Irish citizens.
What it does not tell you
Anything about their history of care work. It is an immigration check, not a safeguarding one, and it says nothing about safety or skill.
Enhanced DBS check
Kept current on the Update Service
What it confirms
Spent and unspent convictions and cautions, and information local police consider relevant to the role.
What it does not tell you
Anything that happened after the certificate was issued, unless it is checked again. For a role that qualifies as regulated activity, an enhanced check can also be run against the adults’ barred list; it also only covers UK record, and it cannot show a concern nobody has reported.
Online interview
Completed before a carer appears
What it confirms
How they come across, whether they can talk through their experience, and whether their manner suits your family.
What it does not tell you
Their qualifications, training or what a previous client thought of them. Those are not checked by PrimeCarers; references sit on a carer’s own profile for you to read.
On PrimeCarers, all four are in place before a carer's profile appears: their identity checked against government photo ID, their right to work confirmed, an enhanced DBS certificate seen and kept current on the Update Service, and an online interview completed. Qualifications, training and references are not part of this list, on purpose, because none of the four checks above can confirm them. How we vet every carer sets the process out in full, and if you are arranging care outside PrimeCarers, how to check a private carer walks through doing the same four checks yourself.
Keeping it current
Why a DBS certificate needs checking again, not just reading once
A DBS certificate carries a date because it needs one. What it found is accurate for the day it was issued, and says nothing about the years after, unless somebody deliberately keeps checking.
- Issued
The certificate is created
It shows spent and unspent convictions and cautions, and information local police consider relevant to the role. For a role that qualifies as regulated activity, an enhanced check can also be run against the adults’ barred list under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.
- The next day
It stops updating itself
A DBS certificate is not renewed automatically and nobody is alerted if the holder is convicted of something afterwards. A certificate from three years ago tells you about three years ago.
- With consent
The Update Service keeps it live
For £16 a year, the certificate holder can subscribe to the DBS Update Service. Anyone they give permission to, such as PrimeCarers or a family checking directly, can then confirm online whether anything has changed since it was issued.
- Ongoing
PrimeCarers checks it for as long as a carer works
Carers on PrimeCarers are on the Update Service, and their status is confirmed for as long as they are on the platform, not only on the day they joined.
Whose job it is
Whose job it is to check, depending on how you arrange care
The four checks above happen automatically for a carer found through PrimeCarers. Arrange care a different way, and some of them become a job for you.
| Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers | You employ a carer directly | A care agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identity and right to work | Checked before the profile appears | Your legal duty, before their first day | The agency’s responsibility |
| Enhanced DBS check | Seen and kept current on the Update Service | They apply through a registered umbrella body, a route open since 21 January 2026, and you ask to see the certificate | The agency’s responsibility, usually renewed periodically |
| References and training | On the carer’s own profile; still worth a phone call | Nobody does this for you | The agency’s responsibility |
| Insurance while working | The carer is insured while they work | You buy employer’s liability insurance yourself | Included in the agency’s price |
| Who answers for the arrangement | PrimeCarers introduces; it is not the employer or the care provider | You, as the employer | The agency, which is CQC-registered |
Identity and right to work
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- Checked before the profile appears
- You employ a carer directly
- Your legal duty, before their first day
- A care agency
- The agency’s responsibility
Enhanced DBS check
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- Seen and kept current on the Update Service
- You employ a carer directly
- They apply through a registered umbrella body, a route open since 21 January 2026, and you ask to see the certificate
- A care agency
- The agency’s responsibility, usually renewed periodically
References and training
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- On the carer’s own profile; still worth a phone call
- You employ a carer directly
- Nobody does this for you
- A care agency
- The agency’s responsibility
Insurance while working
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- The carer is insured while they work
- You employ a carer directly
- You buy employer’s liability insurance yourself
- A care agency
- Included in the agency’s price
Who answers for the arrangement
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- PrimeCarers introduces; it is not the employer or the care provider
- You employ a carer directly
- You, as the employer
- A care agency
- The agency, which is CQC-registered
Checked against gov.uk on 5 September 2026.
If you are not sure whether the way you have arranged care counts as employing someone, can I employ a private carer? sorts the question, and employing a private carer sets out the duties in full, including the insurance and the pension. An individual self-employed carer engaged directly by a family does not usually need to register with the CQC in their own right; do self-employed carers need to be registered with the CQC? explains when that changes.
What is left to you
What these checks do not cover, and how to check it yourself
The four checks tell you a carer is who they say, can work here legally, has no relevant conviction or bar on file, and can hold a conversation. They do not tell you whether they are good at the job. That part is still yours to check.
Before you decide
0 of 7 ticked
Before you interview
At the interview
Once care has started
A written care plan is worth setting up early rather than leaving to memory; building a care plan with your carer has a starting template. How to check a private carer covers the whole process, checks and interview together, step by step.
Getting started
From this page to a carer you have checked yourself
Four steps, and the checking is mostly done for you before you start the first one.
- 1
Search carers near you
FreeEvery profile shows a carer’s rate, experience and reviews, alongside confirmation that their identity, right to work and enhanced DBS have already been checked and their online interview completed. - 2
Confirm their DBS status yourself
A minute, if they are on the Update ServiceAsk for their certificate number and date of birth. If they are on the Update Service, you can confirm online that nothing has changed since it was issued. - 3
Interview them, and read their references
This weekMessage two or three carers, ask about training and experience with the condition you are dealing with, and read what previous clients have written on their profile. This is the part no background check does for you. - 4
Book the first visit with a written care plan
Week 1Agree what the carer will do, book the hours, and add to the plan as you learn what works.
Questions
Questions families ask about background checks
An identity check against government-issued photo ID, a right to work check, an enhanced DBS check kept current on the DBS Update Service, and an online interview. All four are done before a carer’s profile appears. How we vet every carer sets out the process.
It means nothing relevant has been reported to the police or recorded as a bar, as of the day the certificate was issued. It is not a guarantee, because it cannot show a concern that was never reported, and a certificate does not update itself unless the holder is on the DBS Update Service. Use it alongside an interview and the references on a profile, not instead of them.
Not directly. A private individual cannot request a DBS check on someone they have not employed; the check has to be applied for by the person themselves, through a registered organisation. Since 21 January 2026, self-employed workers and personal employees can apply for their own enhanced check through a registered umbrella body, so ask the carer to do this and show you the certificate, or confirm their status through the Update Service if they are on it.
A subscription, currently £16 a year, that the certificate holder pays so their DBS status can be checked online at any time rather than only on the day the certificate was issued. With the carer’s permission and their certificate details, you can check online whether anything has changed.
Checking right to work is a legal duty on every employer, and it is yours if you employ a carer directly rather than booking a self-employed one. You also need to see their enhanced DBS certificate, obtained through the new self-employed route, and buy employer’s liability insurance. Employing a private carer covers the full list of duties and what they cost.
No. An identity check, a right to work check, a DBS check and an interview do not confirm training, qualifications or what a previous client thought. Those are for you to ask about directly, and references sit on a carer’s own profile for you to read. How to check a private carer covers this alongside the formal checks.
Generally not, if they are engaged directly by a family rather than through an agency or another regulated provider, because the personal care activity that the CQC regulates has an exemption for someone working directly for the person they care for. Do self-employed carers need to be registered with the CQC? covers when that changes.