Are all pet sitters DBS checked?
Welcome to the forum @Jenny4
Neither sitters nor hosts in U.K. are DBS checked by Trusted House Sitters.
There are individuals who have been DBS checked outside of THS ( e.g through their employment) so they may state this on their profile .
There are background checks for sitters based in USA ( but not hosts )
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My UK check was done by Police Scotland. It says the following
Separately I am DBS checked for my volunteer work which is history education and I do state it in my profile
What is a DBS check? @Jenny4
I am an Australian sitter & owner and have never heard of DBS.
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It’s a UK criminal record check. Think it stands for ‘disclosure and barring service’.
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I used to work somewhere where a DBS check was required for my employment and we could pay £13 a year to have it updated. When I retired last year I have continued with the update service and have stated on my profile that I would be happy to share my certificate.
I don’t, however, think that it should be required as part of the membership as from a sitters point of view would we need all of the members of the household to have the check completed for it to be relevant. I think the current ID checks are sufficient along with the communication between you before confirming the sit.
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@J-Anne It is required for US sitters. We get a CBC (criminal background check) which is similar to the DBS check. I’ve had it done many times for employment as well as volunteer work. Unfortunately, it’s only required for sitters and not HOs. I believe the US is the only country where THS can legally require it for sitters to join.