Responding to a Minded to Bar letter from the DBS

The DBS is a safeguarding regulator whose job is to protect children and vulnerable adults. It has the power to bar a person from working or volunteering with either group if it believes they present a risk.

If information reaches the DBS suggesting you have been involved in a safeguarding incident, or have acted in some other way that could put children or vulnerable adults at sufficient risk of harm, it writes to you setting out its concerns and offering you the chance to reply in writing before any final decision is made. That letter is called the Minded to Bar letter, or the Intention to Bar letter.

The DBS considers information from two main sources when deciding whether barring is appropriate.

Referral. The first is a referral from an employer or organisation after an incident. The person involved needs to have been removed from the role, but they do not need to have been dismissed. Even resigning before a safeguarding investigation has started or finished does not prevent a referral being made.

Disclosure. The second is disclosure on an Enhanced DBS certificate. That covers not only cautions and convictions but any other information the police hold which is considered relevant and which ought to be disclosed. The police do not need to have taken any action at all. Allegations that never led to a charge, and investigations that went nowhere, can still be disclosed, and their presence on a certificate can be enough to make the DBS consider barring.

A Minded to Bar letter sets out three things.

First, the relevant conduct, meaning the act or omission the DBS believes harmed a child or vulnerable adult, or placed them at risk of harm.

Second, the reasons the DBS considers barring appropriate, including the risks and concerns it has identified.

Third, the supporting evidence it relied on to reach its preliminary decision, which is called the Annex A bundle.

The Annex A bundle matters more than most people realise. It is the case against you, and it is what your representations have to answer.

No. If you have received a Minded to Bar letter or an Intention to Bar letter, it does not necessarily mean you will be included on any barred list. It means the DBS has concerns about your conduct which will lead to barring if they are not addressed. If you do nothing, or fail to respond properly, you will be barred. But where full representations answer every issue raised in the Minded to Bar documentation, the DBS can be persuaded that barring is not appropriate despite its initial reservations, and the case closes with no further action.

In practice, yes. You only get one chance to respond to a Minded to Bar letter, or an Intention to Bar letter. Legislation requires the DBS to offer you an opportunity to explain why you should not be barred before any final decision. That is why the DBS sends the letter, and it asks for your response within eight weeks. After that time, with or without your response, a decision will be made.

The full response must therefore be provided in that window. If you send only part of it because you are waiting on further information, there is no guarantee the DBS will allow you more time before making its final decision. Nor is the letter an invitation to open a dialogue with the caseworker. The DBS makes a preliminary decision, offers representations, considers what arrives before the deadline, and decides.

You have one shot at persuading the DBS not to bar you. The importance of getting it right cannot be overstated.

Although the DBS guidelines do state that it allows oral representations, this is extremely rare. Permission is only granted where specific and exceptional circumstances arise, and it is considered on a case by case basis. This means that, in reality, for the vast majority of people, written representations are the only way to respond to a Minded to Bar letter. I can either advise you on how to prepare your own, or prepare comprehensive representations on your behalf.

No. Neither the fact that a referral has been made, nor that a Minded to Bar letter has been issued, appears on a certificate. Only actual inclusion on the Children's Barred List or the Adults' Barred List is declared on future enhanced DBS checks, once a Final Decision has been made after the strict time limit for representations has expired.

If you are included on a barred list, you must stop working or volunteering with that vulnerable group immediately. Continuing to work or volunteer in any role relating to that group is a criminal offence, as is applying for one in future. A barring decision is devastating to a career in care, health or education, which is why it is worth every effort to avoid it at this stage.

A barring applies indefinitely. People often assume barring runs for a fixed period and then lapses. It does not. There is a minimum period that must pass before you can even apply for a review, and your name comes off only if that review succeeds. A review can be sought earlier than the minimum period only where there has been a material change in circumstances, or where it can be shown the DBS made an error in the original decision.

AI tools can be useful for researching the procedure and the general principles. I would strongly advise against relying on one to prepare your actual response.

Through 2026 I have been instructed on a growing number of cases to advise on documents clients produced this way. They are easy to spot. The content is generic, and it fails to identify or properly address the specific facts and issues needed to satisfy the risk factor criteria the DBS applies when deciding whether to bar. I have also seen a rise in instructions to appeal barring decisions made after someone responded to their Minded to Bar letter using AI.

When your career is at stake there is no substitute for someone who has done this hundreds of times and has a record of persuading the DBS not to bar.

You will speak directly to me, a solicitor who specialises in responding to Minded to Bar letters. I will identify the key issues your response has to address and go through them with you. Whether you want advice on how to respond yourself, or you would rather I responded on your behalf, the first conversation costs nothing.