The vetting standard behind every officer
BS 7858 screening, explained
BS 7858:2019 is the British Standard for screening people who work in secure environments — security officers, keyholders and anyone trusted with access to clients' sites, assets or data. It sets out the identity, right-to-work, employment-history, criminal-record and financial checks an employer must complete, and how to evidence them.
The standard
What is BS 7858?
BS 7858:2019 — Screening of individuals working in a secure environment. Code of practice — is published by the British Standards Institution (BSI). It is the benchmark the UK security industry uses to decide whether someone can be trusted in a position of responsibility before they start work.
Although the standard itself is voluntary, it is effectively mandatory in practice: clients, insurers and the Security Industry Authority's Approved Contractor Scheme all expect security staff to be screened to BS 7858, and most guarding contracts require evidence of it. The 2019 edition replaced BS 7858:2012 and put more weight on ongoing screening rather than a single pre-employment check.
The checks
What checks does BS 7858:2019 require?
BS 7858 screening verifies identity, right to work, at least five years of employment and address history, referee confirmation of that history, a criminal-record check and a review of financial probity. Every check must be documented in an auditable screening file.
- Identity — verified against photo ID such as a passport or driving licence
- Right to work — a compliant UK right-to-work check before any start date
- Address history — all addresses over the last five years, UK and overseas, with dates
- Employment and education history — a continuous five-year record, with any gap over 31 days explained and evidenced
- References — at least two referees (not family) who together cover the whole five-year period
- Criminal record — typically a Basic DBS disclosure (or the Scottish/NI equivalent)
- Financial probity — a consented credit-reference check for bankruptcies, IVAs and County Court Judgments
The five-year history is the part most applicants underestimate. Payslips, P45/P60 forms, contracts or bank statements evidence employment; self-assessment returns or invoices cover self-employment; and gaps longer than 31 days need supporting documents — or a character reference where paperwork genuinely doesn't exist.
Financial checks are about integrity, not wealth: minor issues rarely disqualify anyone, but significant unexplained financial distress has to be assessed because it is a known coercion risk for people guarding valuable property.
Timescales
How long does BS 7858 screening take?
With documents ready and responsive referees, BS 7858 screening typically completes in one to four weeks. The long pole is almost always referee and past-employer responses — the checks themselves (identity, right to work, DBS, financial) usually clear in days on a digital platform.
The standard also allows a conditional start under limited screening: once identity, right to work and a criminal-record check are satisfactory, a candidate can begin work while the remaining history and reference checks complete — provided full screening finishes within 12 weeks of the start date.
Cost
How much does BS 7858 screening cost?
Published UK BS 7858 screening typically runs £49–£160 per person, usually quoted on request, with the DBS check often charged on top. Run in-house, the true all-in cost — staff time, DBS, references and file management — is estimated at £170–£315 per applicant. On the Tech Guarding Hub, guard verification starts at £27.50 per guard, VAT included, with the price published up front.
| Comparison criterion | Typical screening providers | Screening in-house | Tech Guarding Hub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per guard | £49–£160 per person, DBS often added | ≈ £170–£315 all-in per applicant | From £27.50 per guard, VAT included |
| How you get a price | Quote on request | Internal staff time | Published up front — no sales call |
| Typical turnaround | 3–6 weeks | Depends on staff capacity | Automated checks run on submission |
| What you receive | A screening report | A file to maintain | Live, timestamped audit trail |
| Annual re-screening | New purchase each year | Repeat the whole process | Records stay live in the Hub |
| Workforce software | Not included | Not included | Hub workspace + optional TechGuard app |
Comparison figures are typical published UK BS 7858 screening prices as at July 2026 (£49–£160 per person) and an estimated in-house all-in cost of £170–£315 per applicant; actual costs vary by provider and case complexity. “From £27.50” is the Hub organisation self-review route, where your organisation performs the human review; the full managed route, where Tech Guarding performs the human review, is £37.50. Applicants supply their DBS certificate at the government fee. See hub.techguarding.com/pricing for current prices.
Scope
Who needs BS 7858 screening?
Anyone working in a secure environment: SIA-licensed security officers, door supervisors and CCTV operators, keyholders and alarm responders, control-room and ARC staff, and employees of any company whose people hold unsupervised access to client premises, assets or data. If your client contract, insurer or ACS assessment asks how staff are vetted, BS 7858 is the answer they are looking for.
Common confusion
BS 7858 vs a DBS check — what's the difference?
A DBS check is one ingredient; BS 7858 is the whole recipe. A Basic DBS disclosure only reports unspent criminal convictions. BS 7858 screening includes that check but adds verified identity, right to work, five years of confirmed employment and address history, referee corroboration, financial-probity review and a documented screening file — which is why clients ask for "BS 7858 screened" rather than "DBS checked" security staff.
How we do it
How Tech Guarding runs BS 7858 screening
Every Tech Guarding officer is screened to BS 7858:2019 on our own platform, the Hub — a guided digital onboarding that collects the five-year history, runs automated SIA-licence, sanctions, identity and financial checks, chases referees, and builds the auditable screening file reviewers sign off. Annual re-screening then runs automatically, so compliance doesn't decay after day one. Security companies can use the same platform to screen their own workforce.
Guided onboarding
Applicants complete a nine-step digital journey — identity, addresses, employment, education, DBS and declarations — with validation at every step.
Automated checks
SIA licence, sanctions, identity, insolvency and company checks run automatically, with human reviewers adjudicating the rest.
Auditable evidence
Every check writes status and evidence to a versioned screening record, ready for client audits and ACS assessments.
Annual re-screening
Licences and risk indicators are re-checked on a rolling annual cycle, keeping screened staff screened.
BS 7858 screening FAQs
How much does BS 7858 screening cost?
Published UK BS 7858 screening typically costs £49–£160 per person, usually quoted on request, with the DBS check often charged separately. Run in-house, the estimated all-in cost is £170–£315 per applicant. On the Tech Guarding Hub, guard verification starts at £27.50 per guard including VAT, published up front with no sales call — the full managed route, where Tech Guarding performs the human review, is £37.50. See hub.techguarding.com/pricing for current prices.
Can someone start work before BS 7858 screening is complete?
Yes, conditionally. BS 7858:2019 allows a conditional start under "limited screening" once core checks — identity, right to work and a criminal-record check — are satisfactory. Full screening must then be completed within 12 weeks of the start date, or the engagement ends.
What documents do you need for BS 7858 screening?
Photo identity (passport or driving licence), proof of current address, right-to-work evidence, and documents covering the last five years of employment or study — payslips, P45/P60s, contracts or bank statements, and self-assessment returns or invoices if self-employed. Contact details for at least two referees are also required.
What happens if there are gaps in my employment history?
Any break of more than 31 days in the five-year history must be explained and evidenced — for example with benefit statements, medical certificates, travel records or a birth certificate for parental leave. Where documents are limited, a character reference covering the gap can be used instead.
Does BS 7858 screening need to be repeated?
Yes. BS 7858 treats screening as ongoing, not one-off: employers should review screened staff regularly, and annual re-screening checks — such as re-verifying SIA licences and monitoring for new risk indicators — are standard practice. Tech Guarding runs annual re-screening automatically through the Hub.
Need BS 7858-screened officers — or your own screening run properly?
We deploy officers who are already screened to BS 7858:2019, and our Hub platform can run the same screening for your workforce. Tell us what you need.
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