Volunteers in England & Wales who want to regularly volunteer with us and work with our children and young people, will need a current DBS certificate. There is no charge for volunteers to get a disclosure through the DBS. You can now go on to our the online system Personnel Checks to create and complete an application.
Once you’ve completed your application, the next stage will be to take your ID along to your group or District Membership Secretary to be witnessed. Your Membership Secretary will then go on to the online system, verify your application and send it off for processing.
What you need
- Woodcraft Folk membership – if you need to apply To apply click here
- The name of the District (town/area where you volunteer)
- Password — for new members this will have been shared with you via your welcome email or alternatively you can contact your local Membership Secretary or request by email
- Your physical identity documents (passport, driving licence, utility bill etc)
Applicant Guidance
Click here to watch a quick tutorial on how to apply for your DBS
A different process exists to handle applications by transgender volunteers – to find out more visit our Sensitive Applications page.
Update Service
Woodcraft Folk can subscribe you to the DBS Update Service, which will enable us to renew your certificate automatically, and also enable your status to be checked by other organisations you work with without needing to apply again. To do this you need to give Woodcraft Folk your permission by emailing membership@woodcraft.org.uk once you’ve completed your application.
If you have a DBS certificate processed by another organisation and have already subscribed to the Update Service Scheme you can use this disclosure with us. Read our Update Service guidance for more information.
Technical Support
If you have any difficulties with using Personnel Checks, you can contact them via their live chat found at
For any other questions about DBS and Membership contact the membership team by emailing membership@woodcraft.org.uk.