PVG applicant’s guidance for volunteers aged 18+

January 2026

This document explains the process of applying for a criminal records check for The Scouts, which includes joining Disclosure Scotland’s PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) Scheme. This process is for volunteers aged 18 and above. Applicants aged 16 to 17 can use the same online process but have their own guidance document, which can be downloaded from the Scouts criminal record checks in Scotland page.

The PVG disclosure check is an important part of keeping young people in Scouting safe. We recognise that if you have a criminal record this is not an automatic bar to obtaining a position.

Your personal data will be stored on your membership record on scouts.org.uk to support your application process, as well as your current and potential future involvement in Scouting. It is also kept for monitoring purposes. Some information is considered special category data under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018, and as such will be managed as required under the regulation. Further information can be found at www.scouts.org.uk/dppolicy. The Disclosure Scotland privacy statement can be found at Disclosure Scotland’s privacy statement – mygov.scot.

If you are already a member of the PVG Scheme for this workforce for Scouts or another organisation, then you must provide your 16-digit PVG membership number. You can find your PVG membership number on your previous PVG certificate under your date of birth.

Meeting to review your identity documents

You will be asked to meet a member of The Scouts’ local team so they can view your identity documents and finalise your application on the membership system (scouts.org.uk). They can also help you upload your referees’ details if you have not yet done this.

Please take to that meeting:

• Your 16-digit member number if you already have a PVG for another organisation for the same workforce
• Three original documents in your name from the list of acceptable documents below, at least one of which must be photographic. These should confirm your name, date of birth and current home address.

We can only accept valid, current, and original documentation – not photocopies or documentation printed from the internet, e.g. internet bank statements. You cannot use the same document for both date of birth and address. A Disclosure/PVG certificate is not a suitable document to evidence identity.

• Proof of any name changes

You will need to declare all previous name changes and provide documentary proof to support this change of name. If you are unable to provide this proof, please discuss the reasons why with your ID checker.

• Your referees’ contact details if you’ve not yet uploaded them and would like assistance

Once your ID checker has completed the review of your identity documents and submitted the application on scouts.org.uk, the Scouts’ HQ Safeguarding Team will submit the application to Disclosure Scotland, who will then email you with a link explaining how to complete the application. When you select the link you’ll be asked to sign in to or create a ScotAccount.

• You will only have 14 days to complete your application from when you were sent the link.

Receiving the outcome of your criminal records check (PVG)

When you are notified of the result, there will be a ‘Share’ button to enable The Scout Association to view your results. This is the HQ Safeguarding Team.

• You will only have 14 days to click the ‘Share’ button.

The Safeguarding Team will need to see your PVG certificate, regardless of whether it has any conviction/caution information on it or not, unless you are disputing the result and have requested that Disclosure Scotland review the information.

If you do not click ‘Share’ and enter The Scout Association, HQ will not be able to see the certificate and won’t be able to complete the vetting process, so your membership will then be declined.

If you forget to ‘Share’ your outcome with The Scout Association, or you have any other queries about this process, you can contact The Scouts’ HQ Safeguarding Team via Disclosures@scouts.org.uk

Further information about how to share your outcome can be found here: PVG online results for applicants

References

References are not required for PVG-only roles, parent helpers or trustees.

As part of The Scouts’ Safer Recruitment procedures, alongside a disclosure check you will need to have references from at least 2 people on scouts.org.uk.

Please add to scouts.org.uk the details of 2 (preferably 3) people who can act as referees for you.

You just enter your referees’ information, click submit and they’ll be contacted and asked to respond.

• They should be known to you and can be contacted by email.
• They should have knowledge of your work or contact with young people and should be able to comment on your character and relationships with others.
• At least one referee should have known you for at least five years.
• One of the referees must not be from Scouting.
• Referees must not be relatives.
• Please check with the referee first that they are happy to provide a reference for you and check carefully the email address they wish to use.

Note: the referees’ personal data will only be used for the purposes of providing a reference. References are not required for Helper roles.

Read the references digital tool guide to find out how to request references in scouts.org.uk.

For further guidance, the Disclosure Scotland Code of Practice can be accessed via the mygov.scot website – Disclosure Scotland Code of Practice – mygov.scot