The Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) membership scheme is managed and delivered by Disclosure Scotland. It helps make sure people whose behaviour makes them unsuitable to work with children and/or protected adults cannot carry out a regulated role with these vulnerable groups.
How the scheme works
When someone applies to join the PVG Scheme Disclosure Scotland carries out criminal record checks and shares the results with individuals and organisations.
The application process involves gathering criminal record and other relevant information. This can be shared with the employer offering the regulated role, unless the person applies to have a conviction removed from their PVG Scheme record.
If the information shows the applicant might be unsuitable for a regulated role, they’ll be referred for further investigation as part of the consideration process.
EU Nationals applying for roles with children
Disclosure Scotland checks your criminal history information held in the UK, as well as from your country of nationality, if your nationality is one of the following:
- Germany
- Lithuania
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Romania
- Hungary
- Greece
- France
- Ireland
- Italy
- Spain
- Poland
Once someone is a PVG scheme member
Disclosure Scotland keeps checking their suitability to continue working with children or protected adults. If they find new information which means someone might have become unsuitable to work with children or protected adults, they’ll tell their employer.
‘Harmful behaviour’ by PVG scheme members
If the courts, police, regulatory bodies or previous employers provide information to Disclosure Scotland which suggests someone may be unsuitable for a regulated role, this will trigger a consideration for listing.
When should we, as an employer, provide information to Disclosure Scotland about harmful behaviour?
Organisations with employees or volunteers carrying out regulated roles have a legal duty to make a referral to Disclosure Scotland where information suggests a person has caused harm, placed a child or protected adult at risk of harm, or behaved in a way that may make them unsuitable to carry out a regulated role. This includes where the organisation has dismissed the person, permanently removed them from a regulated role, or would or might have done so if they had not already left, stopped carrying out the role, or been working on a fixed-term basis.
The duty can apply whether or not the person is already a PVG Scheme member, and whether the behaviour happened at work, outside work, or only came to light after they had left. Employers should consider whether the referral criteria are met without waiting for the outcome of any criminal or regulatory process, keep a clear record of the decision and evidence, and use the appropriate Disclosure Scotland referral form.
Examples of harmful behaviour may include physical, emotional or financial harm, placing someone at risk of harm, inappropriate sexual conduct, or inappropriate medical treatment.
Barred from regulated work
If Disclosure Scotland decides that someone is unsuitable to carry out a regulated role with vulnerable groups, they’ll bar them from working with children and/or protected adults, and inform their current employers. They’ll also remove them from the PVG Scheme and tell any other employers listed on their record that they have been barred.
How long does it last?
A PVG Scheme member’s certificate shows the information available on the day it was issued. PVG Scheme membership now lasts for five years from the date an individual joins or makes an existing application. Members are subject to ongoing monitoring while they remain in the scheme and must renew their membership every five years if they need to continue carrying out a regulated role with children and/or protected adults.
Disclosure Scotland has confirmed that existing lifetime members will move to five-year membership in phases; individuals do not need to take action until they are contacted directly or make a PVG Scheme application after 1 April 2026.
Types of roles covered by PVG
The PVG Scheme doesn’t apply to all jobs and volunteering. It only applies to regulated roles. Regulated roles are roles that meet certain criteria and often involve work with children or protected adults, or positions of power or influence over these groups. They may include:
- caring responsibilities
- teaching or supervising children and/or protected adults
- providing personal services to children and/or protected adults
- having unsupervised contact with children and/or protected adults
There are many kinds of roles, both paid or unpaid. Some examples are:
- nurse
- child-minder
- girl guide leader
- dentist
It can also apply to certain positions of trust within organisations, even where the role doesn’t involve any direct contact with children or protected adults. Examples of this include:
- membership of certain council committees
- trustees of charities focused on children
- trustees of charities focused on protected adults
Some employers, like aid agencies, send staff or volunteers to provide care and education, for example, to people in countries outside the UK. These employers can apply to have an individual PVG-checked where the role, if carried out in Scotland, would be considered a regulated role.
You can check if a role requires a Disclosure Scotland check here – Check if a role needs PVG scheme membership – mygov.scot