What is BPSS? The BPSS check explained

What is BPSS?

The Baseline Personnel Security Standard (version 7.0, June 2024) sets out the pre-employment screening for people who work with UK government assets, and it applies to contractors, temporary staff and suppliers as well as to civil servants. Its purpose is to confirm that a person is who they say they are, is entitled to work in the UK, and has an employment and criminal record history that can be accounted for.

It is a pre-employment check: it is carried out once someone has accepted a provisional offer, and the formal offer follows only once it is passed.

Is BPSS a security clearance?

No. The standard says so in as many words: BPSS “is not a national security vetting (NSV) clearance”. The phrase “BPSS clearance” is everywhere in job adverts and tenders, but what it means is that the four checks have been completed. National security vetting is a separate, deeper process with three levels:

BPSS is the foundation the higher levels build on. The government's guide to the clearance levels explains what each adds, and our security vetting guide covers how suppliers deal with SC and DV in a tender.

The four BPSS checks

• Identity: that the person is who they say they are, from original documents or a certified digital identity service.
• Right to work in the UK: nationality and immigration status, checked the way the Home Office's right to work guidance sets out.
• Employment history: verified for at least the three years before the checks are done, through HMRC PAYE records or employer references.
• Criminal record: unspent convictions. The standard accepts a Basic Disclosure certificate, which in England and Wales is a basic DBS check costing £20 (checked 4 November 2026).

Two things prompt extra evidence. Gaps of six months or more in the last three years, together or added up, should be covered by references or other evidence. And someone who has lived overseas for six months or more in the last three years needs supporting documents, such as proof of residence, overseas references or an overseas police certificate. The standard is clear that time abroad is not an automatic bar.

BPSS and DBS: what is the difference?

The two are often confused because one sits inside the other. A basic DBS check is the criminal record part of BPSS. BPSS adds three more checks and is carried out by the employer, not the individual.

A basic check covers jobs in England and Wales. For a job in Scotland the equivalent is a basic disclosure from Disclosure Scotland, and in Northern Ireland a basic check from AccessNI. Education, health and care contracts may ask for a standard or enhanced DBS check instead, which is a different and fuller check; the security vetting guide covers when.

Can I get BPSS myself?

Not on your own. BPSS is carried out by the organisation that employs or engages you, once you have accepted a provisional offer, or by a screening provider it has appointed. There is no application an individual can make to “get BPSS” in advance.

What you can do is have everything ready, which is what makes the checks quick:

• A basic DBS check you have applied for yourself. The standard says employers can accept a Basic Disclosure certificate, and that it has no official expiry, though an employer may want one issued in the last 90 days.
• Identity documents: a valid passport or driving licence, and something issued in the last six months showing your current address, such as a bank statement or utility bill.
• Evidence of your right to work in the UK.
• Three years of employment history: your HMRC PAYE record (the standard accepts the PDF you can download), or referees' contact details. If you are self-employed, evidence from HMRC, your bank, your accountant or clients.

How long a BPSS check takes

The standard sets no timescale. The basic DBS check usually takes up to three days to process before the certificate is posted. What usually decides how long the whole process takes is employment history: how quickly referees reply, or whether an HMRC record covers the three years.

Someone who has passed BPSS before, for example a contractor moving between government contracts, can be onboarded once their identity and right to work are checked, with the other checks completed within three months of starting.

The BPSS form: the Verification Record

The “BPSS form” is the BPSS Verification Record, Annex B of the standard. It is the official record that the checks were completed, and it is shared when someone moves between organisations or is put forward for security vetting. It records:

• the person's details: name, address, date and place of birth, nationality;
• the identity documents seen, with their dates of issue;
• any references taken;
• employment history for the past three years, nationality and immigration status (and when it needs checking again), and the criminal record disclosure;
• any additional checks;
• a signed declaration by the person who examined the documents.

There is no separate “BPSS certificate”. The Verification Record is the evidence; the certificate people usually mean is the basic DBS certificate, which is one part of it.

Who carries out a BPSS check

The standard places the checks on the employing organisation, usually its HR team, and allows it to outsource part or all of the process to a supplier, including the decision.

For suppliers, who does the checks depends on the contract. On defence work the Ministry of Defence expects suppliers to check identity, right to work and employment record, with criminal record checks where the law allows, for their own staff with access to OFFICIAL and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE material (Industry Security Notice 2026/04). On other contracts, the tender's security requirements or the contract's security schedule say whether the buyer screens your staff or you do it and keep the records.

How long BPSS lasts

BPSS has no validity period, and once someone has passed it, it cannot be withdrawn. The checks are reviewed only if the person:

• moves to another organisation, which will check identity and right to work again and decide on the rest;
• returns after a break in service of more than 12 months;
• has time-limited permission to stay in the UK, when the right to work is checked again before it runs out;
• declares, or is reported to have, a change in circumstances such as a new conviction.

An organisation can also decide to review BPSS if someone has not started within six months of the checks.

What BPSS costs

Done in house, about £20 a person plus staff time; through a screening provider, £75.50 to £99 a check at the published prices we found. The standard sets no fee of its own. In house, you pay just for the basic criminal record check (£20 for a basic DBS check in England and Wales). Screening providers charge for the whole process, and these publish a BPSS price:

Prices as each provider published them on 5 November 2026, in price order, not ranked or endorsed; volume discounts are common, so check with the provider. More providers, including those that quote on request, are in our compliance help directory.

BPSS in a tender

Tenders for government and public services often ask suppliers to confirm that staff working on the contract will meet BPSS before they start. You do not need a clearance to bid. What evaluators look for is a credible process:

If a tender asks for SC or DV as well, see the security vetting guide: those are arranged through a sponsor, not by you. For the rest of what to have ready before a bid, see the before you bid checklist. To see the tenders asking for it now, there is a live list of open tenders that ask for screening or clearance, and all open security tenders.