Public launch of Online Accounts

Our Online Account service is now live. Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) members can now apply for a PVG scheme disclosure and view their results online.

To use this service, applicants and countersignatories must set up an online account and first confirm their identity. In partnership with Scottish Government’s ScotAccount, Disclosure Scotland is the first organisation to use this new online sign in and verification service and is leading the way for other public sector organisations in this area.  

The PVG scheme: legal requirement from 1 April 2025

From 1 April 2025, the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 will make PVG scheme membership a legal requirement for those in a regulated role and for organisations they carry out their regulated role for. In addition, organisations must ensure that the individual in or being offered a regulated role is a PVG scheme member. There will be a three-month grace period after the legal requirement starts. Individuals who are not in the PVG scheme, but are in a regulated role, must apply to join the scheme. If an application to join the PVG scheme is made before 1 July 2025, then no offence will be committed.

To help you assess if you will be offering regulated roles, please review the Disclosure Act schedules on ‘regulated roles’ with children and protected adults, and explanatory notes. You can also contact our Customer Engagement Team for advice via Disclosureact@disclosurescotland.gov.scot.

What to do when an individual stops doing regulated work

To ensure compliance with data protection legislation, organisations should notify Disclosure Scotland when a PVG scheme member stops doing regulated work with them. This will prevent organisations receiving information to which you are no longer entitled.

This will also help your organisation prepare for the move to a five-year PVG scheme membership, which will commence from 1 April 2026 onwards. To do this, please email dsupdate@disclosurescotland.gov.scot with:

• the individual’s name
• date of birth
• PVG number

Disclosure Scotland will then remove your organisation’s interest in the individual.

Your organisation should have records of PVG scheme members you are linked with. If you do not, Disclosure Scotland can provide your organisation with a list of PVG scheme members that your organisation is linked to. Please request this by contacting our dedicated team at dsupdate@disclosurescotland.gov.scot and provide your countersignatory and registered body codes in your request. 

Keeping your PVG scheme membership details up to date

By law, if you are a PVG scheme member, you need to tell Disclosure Scotland if your personal details have changed. By informing us, you will ensure that Disclosure Scotland holds accurate address and contact information for PVG scheme members.

For information on how to update your PVG details, timescales and legal requirements please visit our website. Organisations can highlight this requirement to their employees and volunteers

Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020

Our latest update on what we’re doing to implement the changes laid out in the Disclosure Act, is now available to view on our website.

Duty to refer

Have you seen our duty to refer video featuring CHAS (Children’s Hospices Across Scotland) and Scottish Care?

In the video, Fiona Harvey from CHAS and Caroline Deane from Scottish Care explain the importance of an organisation's duty to refer. You can find further guidance on making referrals on our website. Guidance on referrals for voluntary organisations can be found on the Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services website.

Video: Your duty to refer with CHAS and Scottish Care (YouTube)

Annual Report and Accounts

Our Annual Report and Accounts for the year 2023 to 2024 is now available to read on our website. Remember to check back on the site for any new news and updates from Disclosure Scotland.

E-invoicing

If you wish to sign up to our E-Invoicing, then please contact Disclosure Scotland by either email to the Finance Operations Team or by telephone on 0300 020 0040 (option 1 finance).

Lines open Monday to Wednesday 9am to 4pm, Thursday 11am to 4pm and Friday 9am to 3.30pm.

You must provide a generic work email address.

Please note: invoices are sent from dsfinanceinvoices@disclosure.scot, so please ensure that this is added to your safe senders list.

Annual subscriptions

If you are a countersignatory, please remember to pay your annual subscription fee.

News and updates mailing list

Want to keep up with the latest news direct from Disclosure Scotland?

Please ensure you are signed up to our mailing list to receive important news and updates about our service and changes that the Disclosure Act will make to the disclosure system in Scotland.

If you are a countersignatory, you should receive these emails automatically unless you have unsubscribed. If you know of a colleague who should get these emails, but aren’t, please contact our Communications Team and provide the individual’s:

• name
• email address
• confirmation of their request to receive our emails

We will then manually re-add them to our communications list.